PRECIFAC to deepen investigations on shady CWE rice deal

By Shanika Sriyananda

The Presidential anti-corruption commission is to expedite an investigation into alleged financial irregularities in the Co-operative Wholesale Establishment (CWE), which imported 225,000 metric tons of rice during the last quarter of 2014, overshooting Government orders. The CWE was granted Cabinet approval to import 50,000 metric tons of rice from India and Bangladesh but the former CWE administration had imported 225,000 metric tons of rice from private parties.

The Presidential Commission of Inquiry to Investigate and Inquire into Serious Acts of Fraud, Corruption and Abuse of Power, State Resources and Privileges (PRECIFAC) is recording statements to calculate the losses incurred to the Government by the excessive import.

Following the statements recorded from a large number of CWE officials, including clerks, by PRECIFAC, it was revealed that an additional 175,000 metric tons of rice had also been imported during the same period without Cabinet approval.

According to the investigators, the CWE had not followed the tender procedure in importing these rice stocks.

“Imports of this nature are usually a government-to government deal, these rice imports were however done through some private rice importers,” they said.

 PRECIFAC was appointed by President Maithripala Sirisena to investigate large scale corruption, financial irregularities and misuse of state power during former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s regime. It functions under High Court Judges Padman Surasena, Amendra Seneviratna, Vikum Kaluarachchi, Gihan Kulatunga and former Auditor General B. A. Premathilake.

“According to information we gathered through grilling several top officials of the CWE under the former administration, though the CWE had done the payments for the two rice importations, the stocks had not gone to the CWE but had been sold at the Pettah market,” they said.

When contacted, PRECIFAC Secretary Lacille De Silva told the Daily FT that many CWE officials would be brought before the Commission to get statements, soon.

“We have already got statements from a large number of officials of the CWE but we will grill more, as it is a massive fraud,” he said.

A few weeks ago, following the recommendations of PRECIFAC, six top officials of the CWE were removed from their posts to facilitate the investigation.