ACCS fears political meddling in FCID
The Anti-corruption Committee Secretariat (ACCS) which directs complaints to the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) yesterday raised serious concerns about political intervention preventing the Special Police Unit from bringing certain state officials to book in connection with mega frauds.
A senior officer of the ACCS, much concerned about the FCID’S future amid various statements about its disbandment from the end of this month, said the real question was not so much about discontinuing the unit or its operations.
He said the real question was whether the expected legal process by the special police unit would continue in the future.
The official said they were currently preparing to end the work of the ACCS on June 30 because there had been no specific instructions from the Government to continue its operations beyond that date.
He said the term of office of the Secretariat set up on February 12, 2015 had been extended twice and its current tenure will end on June 30 if not renewed by the Cabinet.
The official said the FCID would continue even without the ACCS as it was set up as a regular police division under the purview of the IGP. But the transparency of the cases handled by the FCID would raise questions in the absence of the ACCS.
The officer raised his concerns on a matter where the FCID had failed to arrest five officials formerly attached to the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau on an order made by the Attorney General’s Department.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, responding to a query by Chief Opposition Whip Anura Kumara Dissanayake in Parliament recently, said an appeal made by state officials to the AG’S Department had prevented them being arrested.
But the ACCS has reliably learnt from its legal advisory body that no such appeal had been made to the AG’S Department.
The official said five separate cases were being conducted against the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau’s former chairman Bhashwara Guneratne, its former director general Dr. D S Jayaweera and the five-member board of directors by the FCID.
One of the cases had been completed three weeks ago with the FCID seeking legal advice from the AG’S Department to proceed with the case. The AG’S Department ordered the arrests the officials on charges of granting Rs.5.7 million for a welfare organisation prior to the presidential election 2015.
Likewise, the SLTPB had allegedly approved several large cheques to certain private organisations to be used in the run-up to the presidential polls. Another such case was approving a cheque for Rs.5 million to a Pavidi Sanvidanaya to organise a pirith chanting ceremony to foreign tourists.
The officer concerned said the politicians could not on their own commit huge financial crimes without the aid and support of state officials and therefore, arresting only the politician and letting the state officials to go free is pointless in checking crime.
In the Divi Neguma case, former minister Basil Rajapaksa, ministry secretary Nihal Jayathilaka and the Divi Neguma Department Director General R.R.K. Ranawaka were arrested. In the Sports Ministry Carom Board scam, former minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage and the ministry’s additional secretaries were charged.