Rs. 21 mn JICA payment controversy:

by Shamindra Ferdinando

Reeling from a revelation that the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) received Rs 21 million as payment for an anti-corruption study undertaken in terms of an agreement with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), without following proper procedures, the Bar Council has appointed a five-member committee consisting of five President’s Counsel to conduct an investigation.

The committee comprising Dr. Kanag Isvaran, Dr. Faisz Musthapha, Rienzie Arsekuleratne, Ikram Mohomed and Geoff Alagaratnam has been asked to submit its report to the Bar Council within two months.

Rs. Rs 19 mn out of Rs 21 mn received by the BASL was shared by five members who undertook the study.The Bar Council has directed all of them to return the money to the BASL. Two of them had returned their share before the Bar Council took up the matter.

The Bar Council intervened after several senior members of the Executive Committee of BASL demanded an explanation as regards the JICA project.JICA engaged the team comprising members of the BASL late last year to conduct a study on bribery and corruption.

The BASL members have asked why the five members had not obtained approval from the Bar Council and its Executive Committee before undertaking the study. The team facing the current probe includes two President’s Counsel.

Several years ago, The Island revealed how the BASL had secured a sponsorship for the Law Asia Conference from Perpetual Treasuries Limited (PTL), which was under investigation for Treasury bond scams. Those who had shared Rs 19 mn had been asked not to seek media interventions until the completion of the inquiry.

PC Upali Gooneratne, in his capacity as pro tem Chairman chaired Saturday’s Bar Council meeting in view of the current BASL President Kaushalya Nawaratne, PC, too, being subjected to the ongoing unprecedented investigation focused on the overall process, absence of required approvals, etc. The other members of the five–member team are Nalinda Indatissa, PC, Shavindra Fernando, PC, Nuwan de Alwis and Rashmi Indatissa.

The funding of the Bar Association study coincided with the Japanese funding for the UNDP anti-corruption project launched in February this year. When The Island sought a clarification regarding the latest anti- corruption initiative from the UNDP Office in Colombo, a spokesperson said that the ministries of justice and finance were involved in the project.

Japanese Ambassador in Colombo Mizukoshi Hideaki and UNDP Resident Representative in Colombo Azusa Kubota launched ‘The Project for Promoting Economic Governance through Anti-Corruption Policy Support’ on February 13, 2024. The UNDP spokesperson said that the project worth 137 million JPY (approximately USD 931,000) would be implemented from March this year to March next year.

Soon after the finalization of the agreement between Japan and the UNDP in February 2024, JICA in collaboration with BASL conducted a series of introductory workshops between 19 and 28 February for the officers of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) as well as key actors of the justice system.

These workshops dealt with whistleblower protection, deferred prosecution agreements and anti -money laundering measures. In terms of the new Anti-Corruption Act No 9 of 2023 that came into operation in September last year, CIABOC spearheaded the operations. JICA brought in experts from Japan, US (Department of Justice and US Federal Bureau of Investigation), National Crime Agency of the United Kingdom and the Asia Pacific Group for Anti-Money Laundering.