- Says however that only CID probe can confirm veracity of information
Minister of Justice, Prison Affairs and Constitutional Reforms, President's Counsel (PC), Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe yesterday (25) revealed the name of the person who is alleged to have accepted a bribe of $ 250 million to scuttle the legal proceedings seeking compensation for the MV X-Press Pearl maritime disaster.
Following Dr. Rajapakshe's recent allegation that a Sri Lankan has received a $ 250 million bribe to scuttle the relevant legal proceedings seeking compensation for the said disaster, several parties including the main Parliamentary Opposition, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) challenged the former to reveal the name of the individual in question.
Speaking in Parliament yesterday, he said that he had requested the concerned parties to provide him with information if there had been any irregularity which involved the MV X-Press Pearl disaster. "I received a piece of information. It is not evidence. I shall reveal it today in Parliament. But, I do not accept responsibility for it. This is a piece of information. I do not know if this is evidence or not. It should be ascertained through the outcome of the investigations which are being carried out by the Police," he said. Revealing the name of the individual about whom he had received the relevant piece of information, Dr. Rajapakshe said: "As a name, this mentions 'Chamara Gunasekera’." He further mentioned the relevant bank account number to which the alleged sum of $ 250 million had been deposited. "An investigation is being carried out by a Deputy Inspector General of Police of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) under the instructions of the Inspector General of Police Chandana D. Wickramaratne into this matter. Some had challenged me to reveal the name of the person who had taken the bribe. As the Justice Minister, I did not reveal this person's name as it should be done through the Police and the CID, but I will reveal it today," he added.
The SJB on Monday (24) lodged a complaint with the CID seeking an investigation into the allegation pertaining to the said bribe.