Exposé: President Sirisena In The Thick Of A Multi Billion Kickback Scandal
November 21, 2015
President Maithripala Sirisena has effectively violated all norms of good governance, gone back on several key election pledges including a vow to end nepotism and cronyism, and severely dented investor confidence in moves associated with a deal between the troubled telecommunication service provider Hutch and Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT), the latter now chaired by his brother Kumarasinghe Sirisena. The process revealed by the newspaper ‘Ravaya’ will no doubt disappoint the international community which saw in Sirisena a symbol of change, a champion of democracy and a harbinger of good governance.
Kumarasinghe Sirisena is set to strike a deal that would see Hutch being bought by SLT for almost double its current market value. Colombo Telegraph learns that President Maithripala Sirisena is in the thick of this scandal which could yield kickbacks of a magnitude that would make the Central Bank Bond Issue scam seem like a petty theft.
To this end, the President, on the bidding of his brother, has appointed to the SLT Board, two ‘safe’ persons (Rohan De Silva and K.H. Wegapitiya), both former Rajapaksa loyalists and beneficiaries of the previous regime and owners of questionable track records. Rohan De Silva used to be a staunch Rajapaksa supporter who after January 8 struck up a friendship with Harin Fernando. The duo has now replaced the ‘troublesome’ Krishantha Cooray and Firo Farook. Meanwhile Thusitha Haloluwa, a person who played a key role in Maithripala Sirisena’s presidential election campaign and an outspoken political activist, was removed from the Mobitel Board of Directors. He was replaced by Heshana De Silva, a partner of Rohan De Silva and the son-in-law of Udaya Nanayakkara. He used to be a close friend of the Rajapaksas’ and is currently one Harin Fernando’s main financiers.
Hutch, which has been in the market for a while, is in the unenviable position of there being no takers. With Dialog being out of the picture, SLT remains the only viable buyer and is excellently positioned to dictate the purchasing price. Experts in the industry claim that Hutch has been unable to sell even at US $ 60 million. Sirisena, however, wants to start bidding at around US$ 95 million envisaging a purchase in the region of US $ 130 million.
Interestingly, this deal was first dreamed up during the Rajapaksa Presidency. However, Lalith De Silva, the former Group CEO hesitated because there was division in the Board with regard to the then upped-price, which at the time was in the region of US $ 135 million. Some Board members thought that the purchase should actually be at half this figure. Read More
