The Attorney General’s advice is to be obtained about recovering the Rs. 660 million that was placed as a deposit for a private building in Rajagiriya for the use of the Ministry of Agriculture during the tenure of a former government, Secretary to the Ministry M.P.N.M. Wickremesinghe said.
Speaking to the media, the Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture revealed that there have been some irregularities in the ministry during the previous government.
Wickremesinghe told the media that Rs. 660 million that was placed as a deposit for a building taken on rent under the ministry was unable to be traced.
“We have found some irregularities at the Ministry of Agriculture. A building had been acquired for the ministry and a deposit of Rs. 660 million was given. Usually, a bond is taken from a bank for this purpose, but it has been found that no such action has been taken,” he said.
The Agriculture Ministry Secretary said that as of now, it has been years since the building has been returned but the deposit amount has not been received yet, and the former government has not attempted to recover the money.
M.P.N.M. Wickremesinghe added that investigations are being carried out into the irregularities found at the Ministry of Agriculture.
The private building in Rajagiriya, in question, had been obtained on rent by Duminda Dissanayake, who served as the Agriculture Minister during the Yahapalanaya Government for a monthly rent of Rs. 21 million.
At that time, there was criticism about the rent given by the government for this building which belonged to the husband of popular film actress Sabitha Perera.
It is reported that the Presidential Commission of Inquiry, which is looking into alleged fraud and corruption in government institutions between January 2015 and December 2018, had focused its attention on this building. (Newswire)