Airline's secretary admonished over delay in submitting documents

Noting long delays in submitting the necessary documents called for by the Commission to assist the ongoing inquiries into alleged financial misappropriation and corruption, the CoI chairman warned a senior SriLankan Airlines official to comply with directives, given the judicial nature of the inquiry.

It transpired during the Commission's proceedings on Tuesday that the airline's Group Company Secretary, Dalrene Thirukumar, had failed to submit documents relating to the cancellation of the lease agreement on the induction of new A359 aircraft. The Commission Secretary had sent repeated directives in the past, urging the official to hand over the documents on the lease agreement and the termination of the order for new aircraft.

“This is a judicial inquiry in which the Commission is vested with special powers to call for documents from relevant offices and summon officials who were involved in the decision-making process. It should be borne in mind by the officers who cause unnecessary delays in handing in documents called by the Commission,” the Chair and retired Supreme Court Justice Anil Gooneratne warned.

Appearing before the Commission with documents that were long overdue, Ms. Thirukumar explained that there were some difficulties in accessing some documents at the airline chairman's office. Justice Gooneratne told the Company Secretary that she should take steps to ensure that the documents were submitted on time to assist the inquiry.

Last week, a gazette notification was issued extending the mandate of the CoI by a further three months - until May 30 - to provide adequate time for it to carry out its mandate effectively.

Earlier, President Maithripala Sirisena conferred additional powers on the CoI to enable it to obtain bank details of those under investigation and details pertaining to them from the Inland Revenue Department. The additional powers have been conferred at the request of the commission, for it to effectively accomplish the task entrusted to it.