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Three cases to be tried against PGIS senior official suspected of fraud
View(s):Three separate cases are pending against the former Senior Assistant Bursar Mahes Iddawella, of the Postgraduate Institute of Science (PGIS) affiliated to the University of Peradeniya. The senior official was accused of fraudulently withdrawing Rs. 50 million from fixed deposits maintained by the institute.
Peradeniya University Vice Chancellor Upul B. Dissanayake said the fraud was first detected by the general audit of the university. He said three cases will be taken against the senior official; one case will be conducted by the Criminal Investigation department (CID), while the second is a civil case and the third a disciplinary case. All these cases will be held concurrently, he added. The Vice Chancellor said Mahes Iddawella had been living in the university quarters but he has now left the premises. His wealth has been seized under the criminal case. He was under remand but he is on bail now, Prof. Dissanayake said.
He also said even though the accounting system at the University is streamlined, due to a loophole the suspected official had been able to manipulate and defraud the university funds.
The fraud took place at PGIS, but through a separate accounting system not linked to the main university accounting system. PGIS works independently but within the framework of the university the Vice Chancellor said.
The question that had arisen was how this officer had been able to withdraw funds from the institute’s fixed deposits without been discovered over a long period of time.
The suspected official had wound up 14 fixed deposits under People’s Bank Peradeniya Branch between January 01, 2009 and December 31, 2016. He had withdrawn a total sum of Rs. 93 million.
Out of this amount, only Rs. 37 million (Rs. 37,948,865) has been invested in new fixed deposits and Rs. 50 million (Rs. 50,338,160) had been withdrawn personally by the suspected official.
The matter was discussed at a meeting held at the University Grants Commission (UGC) some time ago.
This revelation has also become a major issue at the Parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE).
By L. B. Senaratne