Ex-Lake House chairman’s bid for ‘Rivira’

- Sep 07, 2015

Former Lake House chairman Bandula Padmakumara has submitted a bid to buy ‘Rivira Media Corporation’, says sources at ‘Rivira’ newspaper. Padmakumara has submitted the bid by calling the real owner of the company, former president Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Around a year ago, Padmakumara had been calling Rajapaksa as ‘H.E.’ or ‘Sir’, but on this occasion, he told the ex-leader, “Mahinda Aiye, don’t give Rivira paper to outsiders. Aiye, tell me the figure you want. I will buy at that price.” Rajapaksa has told the editor Sisira Paranatantri that he cannot invest money any further to run ‘Rivira.’ It is thereafter that Padmakumara had telephoned him.

Col. Prasanna Wickramasuriya owns 45% of shares of Rivira Media Corporation, while 40% of shares are owned by Nilanka Rajapaksa, a relative of Mahinda Rajapaksa. The owner of the remaining 15% of shares is the first owner of ‘Rivira Media Corporation’ Sena Yaddehige. Rajapaksa had summoned Wickramasuriya to Temple Trees and gave him fertilizer bags stuffed with money to buy those shares. But, knowing that that was black money, Wickramasuriya had misappropriated most of the money. Sources close to Rajapaksa say Wickramasuriya has gone missing in the US since then, making it not possible to inquire about the money.

Commenting on Padmakumara’s bid, the Kurunegala district MP has told his closest associates, “he is selling me my own arrack.”