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By Madushka Balasuriya
Former Petroleum Minister and Sri Lanka Cricket World Cup winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga has urged President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to not allow the findings of a forensic audit conducted into
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Former Petroleum Minister and
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financial misconduct at Sri Lanka Cricket to be swept under the rug. Ranatunga said his concerns had been raised by the fact that the report had been tabled in Parliament as a Special Report.
“During the previous regime, at the request of the Ministry of Sports, the Auditor General’s Department carried out a forensic audit on SLC. It is clearly referred to as a forensic audit. But this audit is going to Parliament as a Special Report. How so?” asked Ranatunga, speaking at a media briefing at his home in Nugegoda last morning.
This is significant, as a Special Report allows the document to be tabled in Parliament without the opportunity for discussions and questioning. However, by its very definition, a forensic audit is an “examination and evaluation of a firm’s or individual’s financial records to derive evidence that can be used in a legal proceeding”. In tabling it as a Special Report, it essentially negates the purpose of a forensic audit.
Ranatunga believes this is a concerted attempt to protect unscrupulous individuals attached to Sri Lanka Cricket. Recalling President Rajapaksa’s words upon being sworn in as President, Ranatunga urged him to take the same initiative that he had done when conducting surprise inspections of several State institutions, to clean up Sri Lanka Cricket.
“We have seen the President’s recent visits to various institutions. But the Cricket Board is where the biggest thieves are. I mean, if you’re going to clean up corruption, first you have to jump on the Cricket Board.
“There are several places where this report reveals the corruption taking place at SLC. This report delves into cheque transactions that were made to build their Cricket Campus, and irregularities when granting TV rights. The report also reveals that [former SLC head coach] Chandika Hathurusingha had been appointed without going through proper recruitment procedure.”
Ranatunga also drew attention to the fact that six days’ worth of CCTV footage had been deleted from SLC’s security system. The matter had first come to light recently, when a complaint had been lodged with the CID regarding the missing footage, but then later withdrawn.
“SLC officials have even lodged a complaint with the CID, but now the SLC President is saying that it was erased by accident, so there’s no need to investigate it. That’s a wonderful reason. This footage was incidentally taken during the Presidential Election, so why did these six days disappear?”
Ranatunga also revealed that MP Ranjan Ramanayake has several audio clips relating to SLC and match-fixing in cricket, and petitioned him to release them to the public.
Ranatunga though was contrite about the failings of the previous regime, which he had gone out to bat for, stating that he felt particularly let down by former President Maithripala Sirisena.
“I was the person who was instrumental in bringing Maithripala Sirisena to the Presidency, but in spite of all the discussions and the many facts presented, during the time of President Maithripala, cricket was not saved. In fact, it was during the time of President Maithripala Sirisena that the game of cricket was destroyed.
“Because the people who ruined cricket were taken to him, and he did nothing. Maithripala Sirisena will not be saved from that sin.
“I still respect Maithripala Sirisena of course, we did a lot of work. But when I looked at the game, there are a lot of problems. The gamblers and bookmakers who destroyed SLC were under the protection of the former President.”
