Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe has dismissed parts of the Auditor General’s report on the controversial coal import incident, saying certain facts presented “cannot be accepted.”

Speaking during a televised debate, the Minister stressed that the report does not establish fraud but only outlines possible scenarios. 

He reiterated the government’s position that no fraud had occurred in the procurement process.

“The government’s position is that no fraud has taken place in this incident. That is what I, and our ministers, are saying,” Samarasinghe said, adding that a no‑confidence motion in Parliament under such circumstances was unwarranted.

He further argued that the Auditor General should have clearly identified any lapses in procurement procedures. 

“If that is the case, the Auditor General should say in the report: here is the Procurement Commission, or under procurement conditions, this registration did not take place. Therefore, it should be said this is not relevant,” he noted.

Highlighting inconsistencies, Samarasinghe pointed to issues with deposits and documentation. 

“The submission in the Auditor General’s report is wrong. There is a letter written to the bidders. When this Auditor General’s report was presented, there were 4,980 deposits made, so why put only 20 again? At that time, he took the document. When the transaction happened, only then did he know that 20 were missing. Saying the money was not properly paid is being created because of this issue,” he said. 

The Minister concluded that while he does not claim the entire report is wrong, “some points, some sections in it, are wrong.” (Newswire)

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Chairman of the ‘Magen Ratata’ movement, Sanjaya Mahawatta, has submitted a complaint to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) requesting an immediate investigation against individuals who presented false information regarding the recent coal incident.

According to the state newspaper Dinamina, he has requested that an immediate investigation be conducted and the law be enforced against the relevant individuals.

The complaint was filed yesterday (25) against two opposition Members of Parliament and a professor. 

Sanjaya Mahawatta alleged that presenting a report prepared in 2017 with the date altered to 2025 is a serious offence.

After submitting the complaint to the CID, he expressed to the media that this is an attempt to embarrass the government and the state and to set the country on fire. 

Therefore, he requested that the three individuals named in the complaint be summoned immediately and statements be recorded.

The complaint further states that the altered documents should be examined, and if found suspicious, the law should be enforced without delay.

He said that deliberately changing the date is a serious offence, and that Members of Parliament should not misuse parliamentary privileges to make false statements. 

Sanjaya Mahawatta added that, instead, they should come outside Parliament and present this information to the public. (Newswire/ Image – Dinamina)

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