Colombo, Feb 3 (newsin.asia) – Sri Lankan President, Maithripala Sirisena, on Saturday appointed a special Presidential Commission to inquire into allegations of large scale frauds and malpractices in the country’s national airline carrier SriLankan Airlines, SriLankan Catering Ltd and state owned budget carrier Mihin Lanka (Pvt) Ltd during the period of January 01, 2006 to January 31, 2018.
President Maithripala Sirisena signed the Gazette Notification appointing this Presidential Commission, his office said in a statement.
Accordingly, the new Commission will look into several irregularities in the relevant companies including monetary allocations, loans, shares, investments and other finances from the Treasury, Central Bank, People’s Bank,
Bank of Ceylon or any other financial institution.
The Commission will also look into the reasons for the termination of the agreement entered between the SriLankan Airlines and Emirates Airlines, which is the international Airlines Company of the U.A.E.
Sri Lankan Airlines, has in recent years, been plunged into a financial crisis with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe announcing last year that the airline had been facing a massive debt of 3 billion dollars and was a “landmine” for the country’s economy.
Wickremesinghe blamed the previous administration for mismanaging the national airline which led to colossal losses.
He said the government was in search of an international investor to manage the airline on a Public and Private partnership.
