The government has declared that the account maintained by Gotabhaya Rajapaksa at the Thaprobane branch of Bank of Ceylon is illegal and that the funds of the account should be debited to the Consolidated Fund of Sri Lanka.

Cabinet approval

A few days back, Minister of Finance Ravi Karunanayake claimed that a sum of nearly Rs. 08 million was found in an account at Bank of Ceylon (BoC) Taprobane Branch under the name of the former Defence Secretary and that the money has now been transferred to the Treasury.

However, former defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has said that the account was maintained by the Ministry of Defence with the approval of the Cabinet.
However, former Auditor General, S.C. Mayadunne says the Article 149 (1) of the constitution directly affects this move.

Parliament approval
The Article 149 (1) states that "The funds of the Republic not allocated by law to specific purposes shall form one Consolidated Fund into which shall be paid the produce of all taxes, imposts, rates and duties and all other revenues and receipts of the Republic not allocated to specific purposes."

Therefore, maintaining such an account would require parliament backing, he says adding that the Cabinet cannot grant such an approval.

The absence of a parliament approval would be a violation of the constitution, he further said.

(BBC Sandeshaya)