The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) has been asked to investigate alleged financial misconduct and unauthorised use of official signatures within the Maharagama Urban Council.
The complaint was lodged on Thursday by Ruwan Senaratne, a member of the council, who alleged that funds had been withdrawn unlawfully from a government bank account maintained at a local branch.
According to the complaint, signatures and approvals of senior officials had allegedly been improperly used or bypassed to facilitate the transactions. Senaratne said the actions amounted to a serious violation of the Local Government Audit Provisions Act, No. 21 of 2012.
Under the relevant regulations, withdrawals from Urban Council accounts require dual authorisation — the primary signature of the accountant and a secondary signature from either the secretary or the chairman of the council. The complaint alleges those mandatory procedures were disregarded and that unauthorised parties used the names and signatures of top officials to obtain funds.
Describing the matter as a grave breach of established financial and legal procedures, Senaratne called for a comprehensive investigation into the alleged irregularities. He urged CIABOC to identify those responsible and institute legal action to safeguard public funds.
The Maharagama complaint adds to a growing list of local-government accountability cases referred to CIABOC this year. A Sri Lanka Railways Corporation arrest at Nuwara Eliya Pradeshiya Sabha in April and the Kongahage–Yogaraj remand of SLRC officials form part of the same enforcement pattern, alongside the recent Slpp Pradeshiya Sabha Romania jobs scam probe.
