JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake making a special statement in parliament said there were media reports to the effect that the government was in possession of information about several accounts belonging to members of top political family of this country in foreign banks.
Cabinet Spokesman at the cabinet press briefing held on Jan 14 said that the government had found details with regard to three accounts in a private bank in Dubai belonging to a member and three other close affiliates of a VIP political family. The sum total of the monies in the three accounts was more than one billion US dollars.One account had 1.086 billion US dollars another account had 500 million US dollars. Another account belonging to a former secretary and a chairman of a public corporation had 1.8 billion US dollars. Another government MP had told media recently that he knew of a sum of Rs 426,560 million belonging to former rulers. "According to the information it could be concluded that the government had sufficient information of corruption and frauds that took place in the past and it is in a position to take legal action against those responsible.
There was a public discourse in recent times that the government should investigate all corrupt deals and confiscate the wealth of those found guilty of swindling public money. Further to that one of the main slogans of the Jan 08, 2015 presidential campaign by President Maithripala Sirisena was to punish the corrupt. It was one of the promises made in the manifesto. "Now one year has passed but the new administration has not been able to take substantial action against those involved in mega-swindles.
People think that the government safeguards the corrupt and exert its influence to manipulate the investigations to serve the purposes of its political survival. Even in last October the government pledged to take action against the fraudsters but the investigations against them have been stalled," MP Dissanayake said. He demanded to know from the government the progress it made with regard to the investigations into the allegations of foreign bank accounts the Cabinet spokesman had mentioned recently.
Leader of the House University Education and Highways Minister Lakshman Kiriella said Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe would respond to the JVP leader’s questions on a future date.
