Ranil Wickremesinghe Testifies at Bribery Commission Over Chamara Sampath Case

Colombo (News 1st); Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe appeared before the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption today to provide a statement regarding a recent public comment he made on the financial misappropriation case involving former Parliamentarian Chamara Sampath Dasanayake.

Wickremesinghe was summoned by the Bribery Commission in connection with a statement he made on April 10th, where he defended Chamara Sampath’s actions concerning the withdrawal of fixed deposits from a state bank. The former MP is currently in remand custody over alleged financial fraud committed during his tenure as Chief Minister of the Uva Province. He was arrested on March 27 by the Bribery Commission.

According to the Commission, facts were submitted to the Colombo Chief Magistrate in relation to three cases, one of which involved allegations that Chamara Sampath caused a government loss of Rs. 17.3 million by withdrawing fixed deposits after the bank refused to fund a project to provide school bags for children.

In his April 10 statement, Ranil Wickremesinghe stated:

“When I was the Prime Minister, with the consent of President Maithripala Sirisena, it was our Treasury Secretary who issued the circular at the time stating that funds belonging to provincial councils could not be held in fixed deposits. All funds provided by the government were to be spent within that year, and if not, they were to be returned to the Treasury or the Ministry. This measure was taken because keeping such money in fixed deposits for use in other projects later was deemed illegal.”

Wickremesinghe had previously requested postponements for his appearance and was finally present at the Bribery Commission at 9:15 a.m. today. According to a correspondent, several lawyers accompanied him, and he remained at the Commission for approximately three hours.

Attorney Nissanka Nanayakkara, who represented Wickremesinghe, stated:

“We came here based on a summons from the Bribery Commission. A 10-page statement was provided over three hours. The officials treated us respectfully. All matters are now complete, and we are leaving.”

When questioned by the media, Nanayakkara added:

“When the Bribery Commission summons someone, they must appear. No one is above the law. Many government institutions have placed unused funds in fixed deposits. Later, a law was introduced to prohibit this, requiring unused funds to be returned. Our leader came here today to clarify this. There is nothing more to it.”

He confirmed that the former president has not been summoned again.

Following his appearance, Ranil Wickremesinghe held a media briefing along with his legal team. Addressing the press, he explained the series of events leading up to his visit:

“On April 11, I was informed that I was being summoned because I was aware of details related to the incident based on my April 10 statement. I was not in Colombo the following week as I was celebrating the New Year. I don’t know if the government celebrates the New Year, but we do. My lawyer had also travelled overseas. After notifying them, I received a second letter. Ronald Perera had informed the Director General that he would be unavailable until the 28th. However, I received a letter on the 21st summoning me on the 25th. Although I was available, my lawyer was not, and Reshan Perera wrote to inform them.”

Wickremesinghe expressed concern over what he saw as procedural inconsistencies and media exposure:

“I was surprised when I was summoned again, given that the Director General had already been informed of our unavailability. I was told that further investigations under Section 126 of the Anti-Corruption Act No. 09 of 2023 were underway to determine whether my reasons for being unavailable until April 21 were valid. I said that if I’m considered a suspect, I need legal representation. They said I wasn’t a suspect. Reshan Gamage then wrote to Chairman Iddawela.”

He also criticized the alleged leak of documents to third parties:

“Only when I visit the Commission does the media get notified. I objected to documents being shown to outsiders. I pointed to the President’s speech in Batticaloa where he said, ‘He was summoned on the 21st and I saw a letter saying he was celebrating the New Year.’ That means the letter had been shown to him. I then requested a time to appear with my legal team. How can the President speak about internal matters of the Commission?”

The Bribery Commission is expected to submit facts to court based on the statement provided by former President Ranil Wickremesinghe.