Man found guilty of Rs 17 mn fraud given Rs 2.5 mn as gratuity: COPE seeks explanation

The Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) has questioned Lake House management on the payment of Rs 2.5 mn as gratuity to a senior employee who was found guilty of misappropriation of Rs 17 mn during Yahapalana time, according to a media statement issued by Parliament yesterday.

The COPE, at a meeting chaired by Prof. Ranjith Bandara, asked the current Lake House management to inform the watchdog committee, within two weeks, how it intended to address the issue at hand.

COPE also inquired into the Colombo District court granting Rs 500 mn compensation, in a defamation case, due to the lawyer, representing Lake House, being in a wrong court at the time of proceedings. COPE noted that no action had been taken in respect of the lawyer, who retired in 2020.