Wimal charged with housing fraud

By Ashwin Hemmathagama Our Lobby Correspondent

Opposition lawmaker Wimal Weerawansa was framed yesterday at Parliament with misusing his ministerial powers to award state houses to kith-and-kin during the Rajapakse regime.

Revealing fraud which had taken place when handing over houses at Mattegoda and Kahathuduwa Housing Complexes constructed by Ocean View Development (Pvt.) Ltd. Minister Sajith Premadasa said: “Instead of accepting the mandatory 75% down payment, these houses were given out. Recipients were H. G. Wathsala Kumarasinghe (wife of the son of the elder sister of the MP Weerawansa), Isuru Tharanga Muthu Ranaweera (wife of the brother of the MP Weerawansa), P.G. Vasantha Rupasinghe (wife of the brother of the wife of MP Weerawansa), Priyantha Milinda Ratnayake (Manager to Presidential Media Division), V. Hemasiri (husband of a sister of the MS Weerawansa), P.G. Ananda Priyadarshana (husband of a sister of MP Weerawansa).”

Two housing schemes were constructed by this company, which is a part of the Ministry, with the intention of selling them. A type D house is sold at Rs. 9.95 million and a type B house is sold at Rs. 10.1 million at Mattegoda housing project.  In Kahathuduwa housing scheme, type B4 house is sold at Rs. 8.5 million – Rs. 10.2 million and a type B3 house at Rs. 9.8 million.   

“Under the current government, a complaint was lodged by the company with the Financial Crimes Investigation Division on 11 April 2015. Now the matter is under the Bribery Commission,” added Minister Premadasa.