Sirisena appoints Presidential Commission on SriLankan Airlines, Mihin Lanka

• Five-member Commission tasked with investigating allegations over 12-year period

By Chathuri Dissanayake

Making true of a promise given during the ongoing Local Government (LG) election campaign, President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday appointed a five-member Presidential Commission of Inquiry to investigate allegations of fraud and corruption in the national carrier SriLankan Airlines, the President’s office said.

Sirisena during an election rally held in Kaduwela, over a month ago, announced he would be appointing a Commission to inquire into the alleged corruptions in the debt-ridden airline after the Bond Commission wound up its duties.

The President announced the move on his official Twitter account stating, “[the] President appointed a Presidential Commission of Inquiry to investigate the frauds of Sri Lankan [sic] Airlines today.”

The Commission which includes two retired members of the judiciary and a sitting judge will be tasked with investigating affairs related to SriLankan Airlines, SriLankan Catering Ltd and Mihin Lanka Pvt Ltd during the 12-year period starting from 01 Janaury 2006 to 31 January 2018, top Government sources confirmed. The gazette outlining the duties and scope of the investigation was to be published last night.

The committee includes retired Supreme Court Judge Anil Gooneratne, Court of Appeal Judge Justice Gamini Rohan Amarasekara, retired High Court Judge Piyasena Ranasinghe and Former Deputy Auditor General M. D. Anthony Harold and Director General of Sri Lanka Accounting and Auditing Standards Monitoring Board (SLAASMB) W. J. K. Geeganage.

The committee has been tasked with investigating all alleged irregularities in financial transactions, the awarding of contracts, the placement of orders and terminations, the hiring and firing of persons and other finance related issues.

The carrier already has two committees overseeing its affairs, one headed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, the second made up of Government officials that report and make recommendations to the Ministerial committee. The Airline has been making continuous losses since the former Government decided to terminate the partnership with Emirates Airlines in 2009. The losses widened due to SriLankan Airlines being forced to cancel a $2.5 billion Airbus order to re-fleet its national carrier during Rajapaksa’s time.