SLC CFO arrested on fraud charges

Tuesday, 23 October 2018 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Madushka Balasuriya and Nuwan Senarathna

Sri Lanka Cricket’s Chief Financial Officer Wimal Nandika Dissanayake has been arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department on charges of financial fraud in connection to a missing $ 165,000 in broadcasting rights from South Africa’s recent tour of Sri Lanka.

Dissanayake, who is also known as Piyal Nandasena by SLC, had been placed on compulsory leave for the last month after being implicated in the attempted embezzlement of $ 5.5 million in broadcasting rights for the ongoing England tour.

In that instance broadcaster Sony Pictures Ltd. had played a role in uncovering this irregularity, when it alerted the board that funds were asked to be transferred into an unfamiliar account.

It is likely that SLC may have continued to be oblivious to the missing 15% tranche of broadcast fees from that South Africa tour had it not begun inspecting its accounts more rigorously following the allegations against its CFO.

Dissanayake had been working as CFO for roughly a year when the initial allegations surfaced, having replaced the longstanding Head of SLC’s Finance Division Chandramali Korale. At the time he claimed his account had been hacked, however subsequent investigations have shown that not to be the case.

For its part SLC is now looking closely at possible financial malpractices within the organisation, having last month commissioned accounting firm Ernst & Young to conduct an audit into its ‘Media Broadcasting Rights and Receipts and Payments’ for years 2013-2018.