The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) has arrested Renuka Perera, a former Chairman of the National Transport Commission (NTC), over the issuing of 56 passenger service permits for the Southern Expressway.

The Daily Mirror identified Perera as a member of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP). Hiru News reported the arrest without reference to a party affiliation.

The allegations

According to CIABOC, the investigation centres on claims that Perera issued the 56 Southern Expressway passenger service permits to third parties without following the statutory procedures set out in the National Transport Commission Act No. 37 of 1991.

He is further accused of bypassing recommendations laid down in a Cabinet decision of 19 September 2014, and of failing to collect mandatory annual licence fees on the permits.

The Commission alleges the combination caused significant unlawful financial losses to the State while conferring improper advantages on private operators.

Perera is to be produced before the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court for further proceedings.

Context

Expressway passenger service permits are among the most commercially valuable licences the NTC issues, governing who may run bus services on Sri Lanka’s highest-traffic corridor. The Commission’s case turns not on the permits themselves but on the route by which they were granted — outside the Act’s procedure and against a standing Cabinet recommendation.

The arrest continues a run of CIABOC actions against former state officials, following the seven-year sentence handed to ex-minister Piyankara Jayaratne earlier this month.

Update (September 17, evening): remanded until September 29

Perera has been remanded until 29 September by Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama, Hiru News reported after he was produced before the court. NewsFirst reported the same order.

Presenting facts to court, CIABOC said that of the 56 annual passenger transport permits issued in violation of Cabinet decisions, 30 were allocated in connection with his committee and the remaining 26 were distributed to individuals at Perera’s own discretion. That is the first breakdown of who received the permits, and it splits the allegation into two distinct charges: irregular committee allocation, and personal distribution outside any committee process at all.

NewsFirst added a second strand to the financial allegation — that Perera failed to collect the annual fees in a single payment as required, rather than failing to collect them altogether.

Not reported

Neither outlet gives the value of the losses alleged, the dates the permits were issued, the period during which Perera chaired the NTC, or the names of those who received the 26 discretionary permits. Neither carries a response from Perera, his lawyers or the SLPP.

Sources