Bribery commission to probe COPE findings

Chamikara Weerasinghe

COLOMBO: The Commission to investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption will commence investigations into COPE findings on alleged corruption and mismanagement at State institutions when the cases are forwarded to them.

The Bribery Commission said that it was likely to receive the cases for investigations through Parliament early this week.

Commission’s Investigations Director Neville Guruge yesterday said there had been misleading news reports that the Bribery Commission had commenced investigations into alleged cases probed by COPE.

Guruge said the Commission had not received any complaints so far regarding alleged corruption cases reported to have taken place in several State institutions according to COPE findings.

He said the authorities had apprised the Commission about the cases unofficially in several forums, but they have not made the relevant complaints officially.

Neither the COPE nor any other party have registered complaints on the alleged cases to the Bribery Commission to commence investigations, Guruge said.

The COPE is responsible only to the Parliament. Hence the Commission was likely to receive the complaints through Parliament, Guruge said.

According to COPE findings, the corruption had reportedly taken place at State institutions, such as National Housing Development Authority, Lands Reform Commission, Mahapola Higher Education Trust Fund, Ruhuna Development Bank, Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, Geological Survey and Mines Bureau, National Lotteries Board, Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, Sri Jayawardenapura Hospital, BoI, NWS & DB, CEB, and PERC, among other State institutions causing a loss of Rs. 6,000 billion to them.

Asked if it was possible to investigate all the cases just in case the Bribery Commission were placed with the complaints, Guruge said that it was one of the problems they were presently looking at having to deal with a limited number of investigators in the Commission.