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SLC funds amounting to Rs 29 mn in US bank: SLC caught lying before COPE

Published

5 years ago

2021/04/10

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Chairman of the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) Prof. Charitha Herath yesterday (9) said that the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) had taken contradictory positions in respect of Rs. 29 mn deposited in an account belonging to an American identified as Diamond Channel.

SLPP National List lawmaker Prof. Herath made the revelation when The Island raised the simmering controversy over unbridled corrupt practices in respect of SLC operations over the years. The former Media Ministry Secretary pointed out that the SLC took up vastly different positions on the money transfer before the previous COPE, chaired by JVP MP Sunil Handunnetti, on Feb 20, 2020 and subsequently on Feb 11, 2021 and April 06, 2021.

Obviously, the possibility of a deliberate bid to deceive the parliamentary watchdog committee couldn’t be ruled out, the MP said.

Prof. Herath declared that the SLC lacked even the basic financial discipline expected of such a high-profile institution. How could the SLC deposit funds received as the third installment in broadcasting revenue due to it from the Sri Lanka-South Africa 2018 series in an American’s account? lawmaker Herath asked. Their finances had been run in such a shoddy manner, anyone of those in key positions could have moved funds anywhere with impunity, the first-time entrant to the parliament said, in response to another query.

The Island Sports yesterday reported that an abortive bid had been made by the SLC to deceive the Sony Company to transfer USD 5.5 to an offshore account in Hongkong.

According to records available with the COPE, initially the SLC’s Legal Officer Chalaka Silva had categorized the relevant agreement with the Sony Company for television broadcasting rights as a contract for radio broadcasting. When the then COPE Chairman Handunnetti pointed out what he asserted was a deliberate move to mislead the parliament, the Legal Officer promptly apologized. The Legal Officer also said that the SLC’s head of finance usually provided the relevant party – in this case Sony of the required bank details.

Asked whether the parliamentary committee received a plausible response when the top SLC administration was summoned by the COPE on April 6, 2021, Prof. Herath said the body seemed to be in chaos in the wake of continuing investigations into what he called unspeakable financial impropriety

The meeting called to examine the Auditor General’s 2017-2018 report on the SLC and its current status were lawmakers, Mahinda Amaraweera, Mahindananda Aluthgamage, D.V. Chanaka, Patali Champika Ranawaka, Eran Wickremaratne, S.M. Marikkar, Nalin Bandara, Premanath C. Dolawatte and S. Rasamanikkam.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ashley de Silva assured the COPE that the matter was under investigation by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Prof. Herath said that it couldn’t be such a difficult task for the CID to ascertain the relationship between the SLC and the person who received the money.

The agreement with the Sony Company signed in July 2015 specified all details, including the account number of the Bank of Ceylon account maintained by the SLC. Prof. Herath noted Ashley de Silva had signed the contract on SLC’s behalf.

The Communication Department of the Parliament quoted Prof. Herath as having instructed Sports Ministry Secretary Anuradha Wijekoon to conduct an inquiry into this matter and submit a report within three months to the COPE.

Prof. Herath acknowledged that in spite of periodic examinations of SLC finances by the parliamentary watchdog committee, the country’s most influential sporting authority had managed to escape any penalty. That was the undeniable truth, the lawmaker said, adding that the SLC’s rash explanation as regards the hiring of Chandika Hathurusingha as the country’s head coach in Dec 2017 was similar to that of plot in a detective story. Referring to the explanation given by CEO Ashley de Silva, who had played three Tests and four ODI in 80-90s for the country, Prof. Herath said that the relevant agreement had been finalized by two outsiders, namely Hathurusingha, one of the parties to the agreement and a lawyer named Kaushalya. The SLC took up the position the agreement was prepared in secret as Hathurusingha insisted he wouldn’t go ahead with the contract if it was revealed under any circumstances. Prof. Heath said that the whole exercise seemed to be something out of a detective story.

The then Sports Minister Harin Fernando called for Hathurusingha’s removal in the wake of Sri Lanka’s poor performance at the sixth ICC World Cup in 2019. Hathurusinghe sued the SLC over the premature termination of his contract. The COPE was told the role played by the then President of the Board of Control of Cricket Tilanga Sumathipala and Vice President K. Mathivanan, who quit the post in July 2020 following a spat with other board members.

Prof. Herath has told the COPE meeting on April 6 if the court case in respect of Hathurusingha’s removal went against the SLC, in terms of the contract, the latter would have to pay the former coach Rs 100 mn, in addition to legal fees amounting to Rs 30 mn so far incurred. Prof. Herath pointed out that the SLC was paying a heavy price for negotiating a contract under mysterious circumstances.

Sports Ministry Secretary Wijekoon declared before COPE that he was not satisfied with the way the SLC managed its finances. Wijekoon revealed various persons had received monthly payments ranging from Rs 200,000 to 600,000 under questionable circumstances.

In spite of changes to the top management team, CEO Ashley de Silva has remained at the helm for 13 years. During the tenure of Tilanga Sumathipala as the President of the Board of Control of Cricket the CEO received an unprecedented salary increase, well informed sources told The Island. Shammi Silva succeeded Sumathipala in Feb 2019.

Prof. Herath said that some former members of the SLC executive committee were not allowed to participate at the April 6 meeting though they arrived at the parliament.

Prof. Herath said that those responsible had allowed the deterioration. The failure on the part of the Director General of Sports and the absence of proper procurement guidelines, too, has been highlighted along with payments made to various cricket associations with an eye on cricket board elections.

At the conclusion of the April 6 inquiry Prof. Herath instructed Sports Ministry Secretary Wijekoon to initiate legal proceedings against those members of the SLC’s executive committee found guilty of financial impropriety. Wijekoon was also asked to secure the assistance of the AG in this regard.

Responding to another query, Prof. Herath said that he discussed the issues at hand with Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa. The issues raised included the continuation of Ashley de Silva as the CEO regardless of happenings at the SLC.

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Govt. confident of 2/3 majority despite NPP split speculation

Published

4 hours ago

2026/09/22

Sahan Weerasooriya

Anura / Harini

By Shamindra Ferdinando

The ruling NPP yesterday (21) dismissed claims of a widening rift, within the government, over the proposed 22nd Amendment. Asked whether the NPP was concerned over a section of the Opposition alleging Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya and two dozen MPs taking a view contrary to that of the party in this regard, authoritative party sources said some persons were propagating speculation for their own interest.

Declaring that there was absolutely no issue regarding the controversial Amendment, sources emphasised once it was tabled in Parliament, it would be passed with 2/3 majority.

Sources dismissed claims that out of its 159-member parliamentary group a section of NPPers was opposed to the government move. According to an influential Opposition activist, there are 57 JVPers and 66 NPPers in the government group and the rest contested the last parliamentary polls, having aligned with the JVP.

Ministerial sources told The Island that the government was confident of going ahead with the 22nd Amendment and Judicature (Amendment) Bills. Sources said that the NPP was not bothered about the Opposition protests in and outside Parliament.

Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickremaratne is expected to disclose the confidential ruling that he received from the Supreme Court in respect of more than 65 petitions for and against the 22nd Amendment and Judicial Amendment Bills. The enactment of the 22nd Amendment would pave the way for extending the retirement age of Supreme Court judges, from 65 to 67 years, and Court of Appeal judges, from 63 to 65 years.

News

Justice Corea appointed Acting President of the Court of Appeal

Published

4 hours ago

2026/09/22

Sahan Weerasooriya

Court of Appeal Judge M. Sri Mevan Anthony Edirimannasuriya Corea receives his letter of appointment

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has appointed Court of Appeal Judge Mayadunna Sri Mevan Anthony Edirimannasuriya Corea as the Acting President of the Court of Appeal.

The appointment has been made as President’s Counsel Nalin Rohantha Abeysuriya, who currently serves as President of the Court of Appeal, will be overseas until the 24th.

Accordingly Justice Mayadunna Corea was sworn in as Acting President of the Court of Appeal before President Anura Kumara Dissanayake at the Presidential secretariat last morning (21).

Secretary to the President Dr Nandika Sanath Kumanayake was also present at the occasion.

News

Protest against setting up of cement factory in highly populated area near BIA

Published

4 hours ago

2026/09/22

Sahan Weerasooriya

The cement factory premises located in close proximity to a school and the lagoon

… school alleges deception

What began quietly as a single-storey tourist hotel, on the edge of Katunayake-Seeduwa has, five years later, morphed into a looming five-storey cement factory and with it, a storm of fear, anger and unanswered questions.

At a media briefing held on 19 September at St. Thomas International School, Seeduwa, the community finally found its voice. The gathering included priests, school principals, environmental defenders, and parents whose children study within a few hundred metres of the site.

The briefing was led by Rev. Fr. Jude Chrishantha Fernando, Director of National and Archdiocesan Catholic Social Communications, Rev. Fr. Nilantha Heshan, Director of the Archdiocesan Sethsarana Institute, Dinusha Nanayakkara, Convener of the Archdiocesan Committee for the Protection of Muthurajawela, and Attorney-at-Law Ms. Isuri Rodrigo.

Their message was clear: This is not a campaign against development.

“We Are Not Against Cement. We Are Against Deception.”

“Cement is an essential raw material for the country. We have no opposition to any such factory or production plant,” they told the media. “But what we cannot agree to is a project of this magnitude, in this location, without any proper environmental assessment.”

The speakers alleged a textbook case of deception, obtaining approvals for a low-impact tourist hotel, in one of the most densely populated educational zones in the Katunayake-Seeduwa Municipal Council area, and then transforming it into a heavy industrial plant.

“In an area where thousands of schoolchildren study, to show one thing on paper and build another is a highly fraudulent procedure. It is clear that the real environmental damage and the truth have been hidden from the people,” they said.

With the sea and lagoon winds that sweep across Seeduwa, experts fear these fine particles will not stay confined to the factory walls. They will drift across classrooms, homes, and the Katunayake Free Trade Zone, where thousands of workers, representing all 25 districts of Sri Lanka, work every day.

“The risk is not local. It is national. We are talking about a future generation of children with respiratory illnesses, and workers developing chronic breathing disorders,” one speaker warned.

Rev. Fr. Jude Chrishantha Fernando, Director of National & Archdiocesan Catholic Social Communications, responding to journalists

Then there is the proximity that defies logic, just 500 metres from the Bandaranaike International Airport.

The panel presented a scientific concern that has aviation experts worried: a significant drop in air quality around the airport and its runway, and the severe risk to highly sensitive aircraft engines when they ingest air mixed with cement dust. What is at stake, they argued, is not just health but the economy itself.

“When you weigh it deeply, the economic contribution of an international airport is far higher than that of a cement factory. If international airlines start to avoid Katunayake due to safety and air quality concerns, it will be a fatal blow to our country’s economy,” they emphasised.

A few minutes away lies another victim the Negombo Lagoon and the Muthurajawela wetlands, Sri Lanka’s largest and most sensitive coastal ecosystem.

The panel warned that cement dust settling on the mangrove system could degrade water quality, disrupt the delicate salinity balance, and directly interfere with fish breeding grounds. For the fishing communities of Negombo, whose lives depend on the lagoon, this is an existential threat.

“The lagoon is a nursery. If its water quality drops, fish will not breed. If fish do not breed, an entire fishing community collapses,” they said.

The speakers alleged that while the developers claim to have approvals from various state institutions, many of the mandatory clearances, particularly comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessments and feasibility reports, have not been obtained.

They stressed they are not calling for an end to investment, but for it to be done right.

“We have no objection to this factory being started in another suitable location where it will not cause these environmental impacts, based on proper feasibility and assessment reports. Stop this construction here and move it,” was the unanimous demand.

The appeal has now been directed again to the President, the government, and all responsible state institutions and officials.

As the briefing ended, one image lingered — a school playground, a lagoon, and a towering cement structure rising between them. It is a scary picture for the people of Seeduwa; they asks a simple question: What price are we willing to pay for development that doesn’t breathe?