Arrest of NOC Media Manager opens can of worms
Both the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka (NOC) and Ministry of Sports are at crossroads with regard to the arrest of NOC Media Manager Gobinath Sivarajah, also known as ‘Sigo’, who was apprehended by the Colombo Fraud Bureau at the Bandaranaike International Airport on Monday. He was arrested while on his way to Prague, Czech Republic to attend an official matter or a training course conducted by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), but no records show of such an event.
The President of NOC, Suresh Subramaniam, admitting the fact that Sivakumar was an employee of NOC, clarified that the subsequent arrest of his Media Manager had no connection with the country’s affiliated body of the IOC. While being employed as Media Manager of the NOC Sivakumar also served as the Secretary of Sri Lanka Dance Sport Association, an Olympic sport less known in Sri Lanka. Sivakumar had connections with the Teqball Association of Sri Lanka as Project Manager, one of the sports banned by the Ministry of Sports alongside Dance Sport and Winter Sport after being identified as ‘ghost’ or ‘paper’ sport bodies.
According to reports, it’s alleged that Sivarajah’s arrest has been led following a financial misconduct reported in connection to a sponsorship deal between the Dance Sport Association and an unnamed businessman. The amount in connection is reported as Rs. 800,000, and it is alleged that Sivarajah has forged the signature of Malinga Fernando, the President of Dance Sport, to obtain the sponsorship money.
“The NOC does not have any connection with the arrest of Gobinath, as this is an incident involving Dance Sport and further steps with regard to sports body officials on misconducts and other complaints, come under the Ministry of Sports. The NOC facilitate sports and the athletes of its affiliations,” Subramaniam stated.
With NOC’s stance being clarified by its head on the arrest of one of its employees, the Ministry of Sports too is being placed at a vulnerable position, given the fact that Sivarajah served as an official in more than one sport body, all being Olympic sports and once affiliated to the Ministry of Sports. The country’s sports law and regulation prevent an individual from holding positions in more than one national association, and Sivarajah was also an employee of the NOC, which puts both the NOC and the Ministry of Sports in a confusing position.
The Director General of Department of Sports Development, Dr. Shemal Fernando, clarifying the stance of Ministry of Sports, explained that his entity obviously cannot get involved with the matter connecting to Sivarajah, as it’s an internal matter of the NOC.
“We do not have any authority to involve ourselves into this matter as it’s something the NOC should address. The upcoming weeks and months being related to Summer Olympics, any involvement from our end could reflect as political interference,” Prof. Fernando explained.
But with the arrest of Sivarajah having no connection with the NOC, and related with the now banned Dance Sport Association, Dr. Fernando cleared the fact that the ministry still cannot interfere to the matter as it is in the hands of the country’s law enforcement entities. Sivarajah was apprehended by the Colombo Fraud Bureau for allegedly causing a financial fraud.
“Allegations are there, but still not proven. We still cannot get into the scene unless channelled to us by the investigators,” Dr. Fernando added.
After being produced at the Colombo Magistrate Court by the Colombo Fraud Bureau officials, Sivarajah was remanded until June 10. The investigations are still on, but neither the National Olympic Committee nor the Ministry of Sports have been approached so far by the investigators, the Colombo Fraud Bureau.
It has been also reported that Sivarajah’s arrest is just one cog of the machine that involves a number of high ranked senior Olympic committee officials, who have allegedly formed a ghost syndicate within the NOC operating for many years involving financial misconducts and human trafficking.