AG to face judicial oversight committee of house
Over inaction on 32 criminal charge files:
Department denies allegations:
by Rasika Jayakody
Parliament is to summon the Attorney General Yuwanjana Wanasundera
over ‘32 files’ containing criminal charges against individuals on which
his Department is yet to take action, a senior Cabinet Minister told the
Sunday Observer.
The AG is to be summoned before the Judicial Oversight Committee,
which will be set up in Parliament in January, under the provisions of
the 19th Amendment.
A group of MPs who do not have ministerial and deputy ministerial
portfolios will serve as members of the Judicial Oversight Committee.
“Members of the government, on various occasions, have levelled
various allegations against the Attorney General for his lukewarm
approach towards investigations against certain members of the previous
regime. The Judicial Oversight Committee will inquire into the
allegations and assess the performance of the Attorney General and his
Department,” the Minister explained.
He said there were allegations that the Attorney General had not
taken action on 32 cases of which initial investigations had been
completed by the Police Financial Crimes investigations Division (FCID)
and other law enforcement authorities.
“Members of the government, including certain Cabinet Ministers, have
expressed their opinions strongly on taking actions against those who
were involved in bribery and corruption under the previous regime. What
we see right now is a selective approach on prosecution that does not
help the government’s anti-corruption drive,” he explained.
Meanwhile, when contacted by the Sunday Observer, a senior official
from the Attorney General’s Department said, there was no deliberate or
intentional delay on the part of the Attorney General’s Department.
He vehemently denied claims that the AG’s Department had not taken
action on 32 cases of which initial investigations had been completed
and said there have been only 23 cases of which nine have been sent back
to the FCID for further investigations.
“Out of the rest of the 14 cases, suspects have not been found in
four cases. That’s where it stands at the moment,” he added.
He also pointed out that most investigations conducted by the FCID
into financial crimes had been submitted to the Attorney General without
carrying out complete investigations. “They have been referred back to
to the FCID to conduct further investigations,” he said
“Various aspects have not been considered which are essential to
consider before sending out charges,” the official added. There is a
dedicated team, led by a Senior Additional Solicitor General, to attend
to matters related to the FCID.
There are Senior State Counsel and State Counsel to whom cases have
been allocated,” he explained. |