Maithripala Sirisena accused of misusing Rs. 27.5 Million from President’s Fund

A complaint has been filed with the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) by Lakshman Jayawardena, Vice Chairman of the Eppawala Cooperative Society, regarding the alleged misuse of funds involving former President Maithripala Sirisena.

The complaint relates to an incident in 2019, during Maithripala Sirisena’s presidency, in which a sum of Rs. 27.5 million from the President’s Fund was allegedly misused for the construction of a building on land owned by the Eppawala Cooperative Society.

According to the complainant, in 2017, the Cooperative Society requested permission to construct a conference hall. Following this request, construction reportedly began in January 2019 under the direction of then-President Sirisena.

In his complaint, the Vice Chairman stated that seven shops located on the proposed construction site were demolished to make way for the new building. Additionally, valuable items such as doors, windows, and roofing sheets went missing during the process.

The complaint further states that the land was allocated for the construction of a conference hall at an estimated cost of Rs. 130 million. However, as it was decided to use labor support from the Sri Lanka Army, construction commenced with an initial allocation of Rs. 77.3 million.

The complainant added that an initial sum of Rs. 25 million had already been disbursed for the first phase of construction. However, the project has since come to a halt midway. He emphasized that due to the alleged misuse of funds, the building remains incomplete and has become a matter of controversy.

Lakshman Jayawardena also noted that it remains unclear who took the items from the demolished shops and called for an immediate investigation into the matter, which prompted him to lodge the complaint with the FCID.