Nilmin and Mervyn cleared of all charges

‘It must be stated that I am not only expressing our grievance but I kindly request the authorities to use their power vested in them reasonably and wisely, and to be careful and considerate in dictating and levelling out accusations, so that no other individual from any industry or field would have to undergo the undue accusations we were subjected to’ affirmed Nilmin Nanayakkara, the MD of NKAR Travels and former Director of the Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) regarding their hardships and the public humiliation they had to go through due to the actions taken by the FCID in 2016.

He made these comments at the ceremony to honour both travel industry veterans- Nilmin Nanayakkara and Mervyn Fernandopulle after they had been cleared of all charges against them. The ceremony was organised by the Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) and Tourist Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL).

The cleared of charges against defrauding funds and criminal breach of trust, both travel industry veteransnilmin Nanayakkara and Mervyn Fernandopulle were commended by colleagues and industry stalwarts for their contribution to tourism after overcoming an ordeal in remand custody. Tourism industry veterans Nilmin Nanayakkara and Mervyn Fernandopulle, who represented the private sector on the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) board, were arrested by the FCID in 2016 on alleged irregular transactions under the former regime.

An emotional Nilmin Nanayakkara insisted he was not working under anyone’s instructions at the time they took decisions as directors of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB). It had been alleged that some monies of the Bureau had been used for election purposes.

Nilmin recalled that the day they were granted bail the media was not present but pointed out that they had already been branded publicly and ‘we were defamed publicly’.

While acknowledging the hardships and difficulties that Nanayakkara and Fernandopulle had to undergo, Tourism Minister John Amaratunga commended the independence of the judiciary for delivering justice to the duo.

Nanayakkara acknowledged the continuous support extended by Amaratunga publicly on several occasions to him and Fernandopulle. He went on to deliver an emotional speech on how his reputation got tarnished while his family members also had to go through a tough time due to unwarranted actions of law enforcement agencies.

Meanwhile Fernandopulle addressing the gathering said they had undergone a difficult time mainly due to the fact that they were restricted from travelling overseas as a result of which their companies and personal lives underwent financial strain.

Nilmin explained that some of his small time competitors had tried to create a bad impression about him