Sri Lanka’s investigation into alleged irregularities in substandard coal imports has intensified, with a presidential commission questioning the general manager of the state-owned Lanka Coal Company over a letter relating to the disputed transaction. The inquiry comes as a parliamentary oversight committee has reportedly estimated the total financial loss associated with the coal controversy at Rs 17.965 billion, adding to concerns over the cost of the imports and the management of the state-owned company responsible for importing and supplying coal.
The presidential commission, appointed by the president to investigate alleged coal-related fraud, met on 8 October under the chairmanship of Gihan Kulatunga. At about 1pm, it summoned Lanka Coal Company General Manager Namal Hewage to give evidence. According to a report published by Lanka Underground News, questioning continued until approximately 6.30pm, with the commissioners examining a letter Hewage had issued concerning Rakhitha Rajapaksa.
Hewage told the commission that the letter stated Rajapaksa had no involvement in the coal transaction. He said he had issued it at the request of Lanka Coal Company chairman Jayantha Ratnayake. The report does not independently establish Rajapaksa’s role in the transaction or provide the full text of the letter, leaving the circumstances surrounding its preparation and purpose to be clarified through the investigation.
The commissioners also questioned how Hewage had been appointed general manager when, according to the report, the company had not published a newspaper advertisement announcing the vacancy. They asked how his agricultural degree qualified him for the position. The account does not provide Hewage’s full response to those questions or specify the recruitment procedures followed when he was appointed.
Lanka Underground News alleged that the commission’s questioning risked placing responsibility on the general manager while leaving other individuals involved in the coal procurement process beyond scrutiny. It further alleged that the disputed imports had been carried out at the instigation of Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody. These are claims made by the publication, rather than findings established by the commission, and the report provides no independent evidence confirming them.
The publication also raised questions about Ratnayake’s role as chairman of Lanka Coal Company. It reported that Ratnayake had previously worked in the Department of Immigration and Emigration and had been appointed chairman by Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe. According to the report, Ratnayake instructed Hewage to provide the letter concerning Rajapaksa. The article further alleged that Ratnayake addressed coal suppliers as “Sir”, although it did not provide documentary evidence or responses from the parties concerned.
Another allegation concerned a sofa set reportedly obtained for Lanka Coal Company following a request to Jayasundara, identified in the report as a local representative of a coal supplier. The publication also claimed that Deputy Finance Minister Dr Anil Jayantha Fernando was dissatisfied with Ratnayake’s conduct but had refrained from challenging his appointment because it had been made by Samarasinghe. No direct comment from Fernando, Ratnayake or Samarasinghe was included in the account.
The financial implications of the coal controversy were detailed in a final report by Parliament’s Sectoral Oversight Committee on Infrastructure. According to the publication, the committee estimated the total loss at Rs 17.965 billion, or Rs 17,965 million. It compared the figure with losses associated with the Central Bank bond scandal, claiming that the coal-related loss was one-and-a-half times greater. The report did not reproduce the committee’s full calculations or provide a breakdown of the losses in the supplied account.
Separately, Energy Minister Anura Karunathilaka told Parliament on 8 October that substandard coal imports had caused losses exceeding Rs 15.76 billion. He said more than Rs 8.57 billion had been spent on alternative electricity purchases to compensate for lost generation, while ADL had incurred more than Rs 7.91 billion in additional costs, including coal stockpiling, essential maintenance and operational charges. He also said the government had withheld more than Rs 16.98 billion through penalties and suspended performance bonds associated with the incident, and guaranteed that the costs would not be passed on to electricity consumers.
The commission’s questioning of Hewage, the allegations concerning the company’s leadership and the parliamentary committee’s reported loss estimate form separate strands of scrutiny into the coal imports. The available report does not establish individual criminal responsibility or indicate whether the commission has reached conclusions about the roles of the officials and suppliers mentioned.
