(File photo/ Reuters)
Officials from 29 state institutions are to be questioned by the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) on how state funds amounting to Rs. 80 million were transferred to an organisation known as the ‘Mahinda Chinthana Sahurdha Sansadaya’ (Mahinda Chinthana Fraternity Guild).
The FCID has obtained an order from the Maligakanda magistrate’s court to record statements from official of state banks, the State Timber Corporation, the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, the Foreign Employment Bureau, the Development Lotteries Board, the National Water Supply and Drainage Board and the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau, among others.
A senior FCID officer said investigations had revealed that funds were given for the welfare of the members of the guild and for get-togethers held every two months to implement the Mahinda Chinthanaya manifesto.The initial investigations into the misappropriation of funds had begun after the FCID found that Rs. 6 million had been transferred from the Ports Authority to the ‘Pushpa Rajapaksa’ foundation from which the money had been redirected to the fund of the guild.
The guild had been operated by two government officials and the chairman of a state body. The guild also had received funds from private organisations.
ST