Nation Building Minister Rohitha Abeygunawardene has assets valued at nearly Rs. 450 million, which is unaccounted for according to police investigations, The Sunday Leader learns.
The Sunday Leader learns the Minister according to investigations has not submitted an assets declaration as warranted by law nor accounted for his income based on which he acquired the assets.
The Minister who is a parliamentarian hailing from the Kalutara District has been reported to the Permanent Commission Investigating Allegations of Bribery and Corruption through three anonymous petitions, it is learned.
It is learned according to investigations Abeygunawardene who first entered parliament in December 2001 has never submitted an assets declaration.
However Minister Abeygunawardene denied any wrongdoing to The Sunday Leader.
Abeygunawardene told The Sunday Leader he has declared his assets in keeping with government rules and regulations and was never summoned before the Bribery Commission nor appeared before it at any time.
"What was the reason for the Bribery Commission to summon me as I have done nothing wrong. My hands are clean and I totally reject the baseless allegations against me" he said.
Meanwhile, two police officers attached to the Bribery Commission have petitioned the Supreme Court after being transferred out of the commission alleging they were victimised for refusing to stall an investigation into the assets of a minister they have not named citing secrecy provisions in the law.
The Petitioners Nihal Amarasiri and K. A. Sujatha Kumari have stated in their Fundamental Rights application, they were leading the investigation against the Minister with regard to complaints received, when they were summoned by the Director Investigations of the Commission Neville Guruge and given an unprecedented direction to submit a set of questions for the Minister.
The petitioners had further alleged that the Minister was summoned twice by the Acting Director General of the Bribery Commission and on both occasions he had sought further time and failed to appear before the Commission to record a statement.
It was also being alleged in the petition by Amarasiri, that he was summoned by a member of the Commission - Indra Silva - and told that the Minister had called him several times, and whether the investigation could not be ended at his level (Amarasiri's).
The petitioners have also asked the Supreme Court to call for files Nos. BC/441/2005, BC/1134/2006 and BC/1947/2006 and peruse them since they are bound by an oath of secrecy not to disclose details of investigations.
They have also charged that on July 31, 2008 a police message was received from IGP Jayantha Wickremaratne transferring Amarasiri to Vavuniya division while Sujatha Kumari was transferred to IG's Command and Information Division.
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