How not to STRAY AWAY FROM ‘RAJAPAKSA MONEY TRAIL’

Thegoodnewsisthatthegovernment claims to have traced US $ two billion that had been stashed away in three accounts operated by the members of ‘the family’ and their cronies in Dubai banks. The bad news is that it is Cabinet Spokesman Minister Rajitha Senaratne who is making the revelation, which should compel us to take it with a pinch of salt.

It is not because the Rajapaksas are paragons of virtues, the blue blooded patriots who could not steal from the public and whose only error was an occasional ‘white vanning’. But, because too many political statements could add a political slant to an all-important probe. The ongoing investigation involves an estimated US $ 10 billion that is alleged to have been looted from the country from 2005-2014.

Going by the sheer scale of corruption under investigation, it is of national importance. Therefore, it should be handled professionally, sans any appearance of catering to party-political interests.

The government appears to be keen on tracing ‘missing money’ which may be the case for which it has sought the assistance and expertise from India and the US.

What is essential is that not only should the investigation be conducted independently, but it should also appear to be independent. It should not give any notion that it is aimed at the character assassination of the Rajapaksas. That is all the more important since there are still a good number of people who believe in the demagoguery of the ex- president.

Numbers speak of a grand robbery of national wealth.The estimated US $ 10 billion is accounted for as one seventh (1/7) of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) last year. The government has also alleged that US $ 5 billion has been taken out of the country in 2013 alone. The GDP of Sri Lanka in 2013 was US $ 67 billion, meaning one in every 13 dollars or 7.5 % of the GDP of that year has been siphoned by the leaders and their cronies of the previous regime.

That is exactly why this particular investigation should not be relegated to a political gimmick. However, when politicians often make unsubstantiated remarks they endanger the credibility of the investigation.

By doing so, the government would let the Rajapaksas escape, along with the loot.

Every government ministry, service arms of the security forces and police and trade unions have designated spokespersons. But, where investigations related to the previous administration are concerned, every politician is a self-appointed spokesman. Some make public announcements on the impending arrests of drug barons and their political patrons. By doing so, they do the job of the police spokesman. Certain others talk of pending arrests over bribery and corruption which again is the job of the commissioners of the Bribery Commission.There is a simple solution: politicians desist from making statements about ongoing investigations as such remarks lead to a conflict of interests.Appoint a spokesman for the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Central Bank or any other independent authority to address the media regarding the ongoing investigations. The Bribery Commission has a Director General who would speak on behalf of the commission.

President Maithripala Sirisena early this month appointed a Presidential Commission of Inquiry, chaired by Supreme Court Judge Justice Priyasath Dep to probe corruption and abuse of power during the previous regime.

Some politicians (including Minister Senaratne) who speak of the investigations may feel a sense of entitlement to do so. They were among a minority who openly challenged the ex-president and his family on corruption, at least since their defection from the then government. Since the election was a close call, such a gesture required a remarkable bravado, especially because many others who crossed the path of ‘the family’in the past, such as Gen Fonseka and Justice Shirani Bandaranayake had to pay dearly.

Apart from promoting their personal political interests, some of those interlocutors could also help keep public attention alive on ongoing investigations. Despite their supposedly good intentions, they give a political slant to the investigations. Many who loath the Rajapaksa regime would not care about politicians going out of their way to pinch the once unassailable first family. But, there are another 5.8 million who voted for the ex-president; many of them still have faith in Mr. Rajapaksa. They would not be impressed by political trickery. The government should provide evidence that the allegations pending against the ex-president and his cronies are factual, and that they are free from political interference.

Failing to do so will erode the legitimacy of the ongoing investigation.That would only help those who bled this country white through the pursuit of their kleptocratic ambitions.

On the other hand, political commitment is mandatory for the success of the ongoing investigation. Politicians can enhance the credibility of the probe by turning it into a full-fledged independent mechanism which is to be entrusted with the requisite local and international expertise.

Our experience in the recent past would reveal that even the most basic local investigations on corruption involving politicians, be it S.B. Dissanayake, Anuruddha Ratwatte or Wijayapala Mendis fell by the wayside in the absence of the required expertise as well as due to political meddling.

It is something that the political leadership of the current administration should try avoiding in the best interest of the ongoing investigation.

Minister Senaratne said last week: “one person from a leading family held $1.064bn. Another account under a Parliament member’s name had over $500m and a secretary to a very important person had over $500m jointly with another famous person for corruption. There had been withdrawals to the tune of $ 600 million from one account. If that is the case, there is a sense of urgency to take legal action. But, we have not heard of any instance of any member of ‘the family’or their acolytes being questioned by the local investigative agencies on said allegations.”

The search and recovery of billions of public money siphoned from the country would be a long and exhaustive process. It could well take decades.The Philippines which has been tracing money looted by its own kleptocratic dictator Ferdinand Marcos was entangled in prolonged legal battles with Swiss banks, until recentlyeven three decades after the ouster of Marcos.

However, when a government fails to prosecute the perpetrators of grand thefts of public money, it could lead to a greater social malfunction reaching as for as the elected office. Crooks that should be in jail will end up in Parliament, of course voted in by their receptive constituencies.

In the Philippines, Marcos is alleged to have robbed $10 billion from the government treasury. He was ousted in the People’s Power uprising in 1986 and fled to the US. After his demise, his wife Imelda who was better known during her ‘heydays’for extravagant shoe fetish returned to the Philippines and unsuccessfully ran for the presidency, and later for a seat in the Lower House which she won. She is still a serving congress woman. Meanwhile, the Philippines continue to pay debt servicing for hefty loans obtained during the Marcos era. Much of that money comes from the Filipinos working abroad; having fled poverty at home. This could well be our story as well.

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