The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) has filed a formal complaint with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) seeking a probe into an alleged voice recording linked to the coal tender process, the latest escalation in Sri Lanka’s deepening coal procurement scandal.
MP Mujibur Rahman, speaking to media after submitting the complaint on Sunday, said the recording indicates the tender may have been awarded to an associate of the President. SJB MP Waruna Rajapaksha added that the recording suggests individuals involved in the transaction were under pressure from a senior authority.
The complaint concerns alleged irregularities in the awarding of spot tenders for coal under the current government.
Lanka Coal Company Chairman Jayantha Rathnayake issued a statement the same day rejecting the claims. He said the audio recording captures a March 25 telephone conversation between himself, the company’s General Manager, and a coal supplier representative regarding the submission of a performance bond.
Rathnayake said the emergency coal procurement followed Cabinet approval and proper tender procedures, urging the public not to be misled by what he described as distorted social media reports.
The CID complaint comes days after the government survived a no-confidence motion against Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody over the coal crisis, and amid a Presidential Commission investigation into coal procurement dating back to 2009. The CID has already sealed Lanka Coal’s office as part of its ongoing probe.
