“I decided to write this statement in response to the many misleading and hateful statements being publicised by some elements about the reason for removing the floating armoury business from the Sri Lanka Navy and vesting it with the Avant Garde company. Despite holding documentary evidence to respond to the various allegations levelled against us continuously during the past few years, we refrained from publicising these facts since it would have placed the Sri Lanka Navy in an embarrassing situation and also because the retired senior Navy officers in our company objected to the publicising of these documents,” he said. Wijewardene told The Sunday Morning that he was informed of these allegations and had instructed the Navy Commander to conduct an inquiry into the matter so that they can ascertain the veracity of these allegations. However, he went on to say that it was highly unlikely that such allegations were true. “I highly doubt that Navy personnel illegally sold weapons. If it were true, then the Navy Commander at the time would have been aware. Investigations will reveal more,” he said. Meanwhile, Navy Spokesman Lt. Commander Isuru Suriyabandara charged that Senadhipathi should have gone to the proper authorities with the allegations instead of the media. “If he has any allegations, then he should lodge such complaints at the proper agencies. He could have lodged his complaint at the Police, the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption, or even the Ministry of Defence. He is just making these claims to the media.” Furthermore, the Navy Spokesman questioned Senadhipathi’s intentions for making the allegations. “Why did he keep this a secret for so long? He said that there was a threat to national security. Why then didn’t he expose this much sooner?”