PRECIFAC to wind up on 3 Nov. as term ends

Tuesday, 24 October 2017 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Shanika Sriyananda

The anti-corruption commission appointed by President Sirisena is to hand over its final overall report on large-scale corruption, fraud and misuse of power and state funds to the Head of State in early November, a top official of the commission said, as its term comes to an end.

During its term of two years and seven months, the Presidential Commission of Inquiry to Investigate and Inquire into Serious Acts of Fraud, Corruption and Abuse of Power (PRECIFAC) has investigated 34 major cases of large-scale fraud and corruption.

PRECIFAC has already handed over 17 final reports on large-scale fraud and corruption to the President for further legal action.

“We are in the process of giving the final touches to our overall final report and another 17 final reports on large-scale fraud and corruption, on which we have already concluded our investigations.”

“We have to hand over these reports to the President before 3 November,” PRECIFAC’s Secretary H.W. Gunadasa told the Daily FT.

According to Gunadasa, PRECIFAC’s final overall report will recommend how to prevent and tackle large-scale fraud and corruption in the future.

PRECIFAC, which was appointed by President Sirisena to investigate large-scale fraud, corruption and misuse of power during the previous regime, was given two extensions to complete over 415 such cases out of 1,600 complaints.

The final reports handed over to President Sirisena include the alleged fraud at ITN during the last presidential election campaign led by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the alleged illegal deployment of Rakna Lanka employees in the 2015 presidential polls, the sale of expired dynamite by the Ministry of Defence, the financial irregularities of SriLankan Airlines and SriLanka Airlines Catering, the misuse of state funds at the Lunuwila Coconut Research Board, financial irregularities reported at the North Central Provincial Council when purchasing water filters and the misuse of state vehicles and fuel by the former Chief Minister of the North Central Province.

Several top officials of the previous Government, including some cabinet ministers and defence officials, have testified before its five-member panel of commissioners at the public hearings held at the BMICH.