Carlton corruption must be probed: Mangala

By Uditha Jayasinghe  

More charges of corruption are emanating from cricket, with UNP MP Mangala Samaraweera yesterday alleging large financial misappropriation in the Carlton Sports Network deal and insisting that there is a strong connection with the Rajapaksa family.

Addressing the media at a press conference last morning, Samaraweera insisted that Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) attempting to hand over the broadcasting rights to Carlton Sports Network was another incident of large scale corruption within the Government.

According to information in Samaraweera’s possession, Carlton Sports Network was only registered on 10 February 2011 and has directors who are closely associated with the Rajapaksas; it was directly supported by a Cabinet paper.

“When we asked for the details of this company to be revealed in Parliament, Deputy Economic Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardana sidestepped the question and said that there was no reason to suspect Carlton Sports Network because it was in possession of a frequency even during war times. However, when one looks and the legal documents it is evident that this company was registered only on 10 February 2011; therefore how can it have been in operation during the war?” he said, observing that this was simply one of the obvious discrepancies.

Reading out the names of Karunajeewa, Welivita, Fernando and Dissanayake, which were mentioned by Carlton as being Directors, he pointed out that they were close associates of the Rajapaksa family. Samaraweera also stressed that the address of 260/11 Torrington Avenue, Colombo 5, which is the address given as the headquarters of the company, is that of a private residence of the Rajapaksas.

“We have all at one time or the other been invited to this house by none other than President Mahinda Rajapaksa,” he claimed, adding that this showed the close involvement of the Rajapaksas in the allegedly fraudulent deal.

Tracing the progression of the issue, Samaraweera recalled that the Cabinet had about two years ago approved a regulation that gave State media sole rights to broadcast cricket matches.

“Since the money was for a public organisation, we agreed. Thanks to this during the World Cup, Rupavahini managed to put up a bid of Rs. 143 million and earned revenue of Rs. 556 million. During the recent England tour, it bid Rs. 40 million and earned Rs. 60 million. Then this Cabinet regulation was recently amended to include State and other special media organisations. We believe that this was to pave the way for Carlton Sports Network.”

For the upcoming Australian tour, Rupavahini initially bid Rs. 30 million and reduced it to Rs. 17 million due to pressure from top officials, Samaraweera noted. He alleged that Carlton Sports Network was preparing to bid Rs. 27 million to obtain broadcasting rights.

“They are so confident that they have already gotten sponsors for the event. In fact we understand that two prominent Government companies have come on board with sponsorships totalling Rs. 19.5 million. It is clear that this is blatant corruption and that those behind the corruption are so confident of succeeding they don’t even have to wait until the bid is accepted.”

The UNP MP called on the Government to explain itself and emphasised that colossal financial mismanagement of this nature could not be allowed to continue. He also stated that a complaint in this regard would be lodged with the Bribery and Corruption Commission, even though he did not expect positive results.