Opposition Parliamentarian Prof. G.L. Peiris yesterday (2) said that the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe should make a statement disclosing the truth behind the allegations made by Minister of Justice, President’s Counsel Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe that a person named Chamara Gunasekera has accepted a bribe from the insurer of the tanker MV X-Press Pearl, which was gutted in a fire that erupted off the Western coast of Sri Lanka in 2021.
Speaking at a press conference organised by the Freedom People’s Congress yesterday, he also said that Dr. Weerasinghe should intervene in this matter and explain to the public and the Parliament as to whether it is possible for something like this to take place. “The amount of compensation which was estimated by the maritime experts is $ 6.4 billion and it is two times more than the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout we are given. So, I have a doubt as to why the Government is not taking measures to get this compensation when it is not even a debt. Recently, the Justice Minister made an allegation that an amount of $ had been deposited into a British bank account owned by a person called Chamara Gunasekera, by the insurers of the MV X-Press Pearl. Can such things happen or is it a programme to divert the public attention to somewhere else? In my opinion, the CBSL Governor is the most suitable person to disclose what the real truth is. He must explain this to the Parliament as well as to the public,” he said.
Prof. Peiris further said that the Government is wasting its foreign exchange by prosecuting vessel owners in Singapore when they can be prosecuted in Sri Lanka. “The ship was gutted in a fire within the Sri Lankan territory. Therefore, the prosecution should be carried out under the Sri Lankan law. Wherever we prosecute them, whether it is in Sri Lanka or Singapore, it should be carried out under the Sri Lankan Law. In my opinion, the best thing to do now is to appoint a Special Parliamentary Select Committee to look into this matter,” he said.
The Singapore flagged container ship MV X-Press Pearl, only three months after being commissioned, was gutted in a fire that erupted off the Western coast of Sri Lanka on 19 May, 2021.
Following the disaster, the Marine Environment Protection Authority appointed a committee of experts comprising professors and other relevant top public officials to assess the damage. The panel handed over its second environmental impact assessment report to the Attorney General’s Department on 13 January, 2023.