State capture, then...and now?

“Psst...Wanna buy a law?” Brenden Greeley and Alison Fitzgerald (Bloomberg Business- week — 1.12.2011)

- By TISARANEE GUNASEKARA

JUSTICE was a keyword and a foundational pledge of Maithripala Sirisena’s 2015 presidential campaign.

Candidate Sirisena, Ranil Wickremesinghe, and a bunch of oppositional politicians promised to end the repression and the corruption that had become bywords for Rajapaksa governance, and to bring the perpetrators before the law.

Amongst the high profile corruption cases often touted on campaign platforms was that of Avant Garde Maritime Services. This private military contractor (dubbed Sri Lanka’s Blackwater by some) was registered in 2011 as a subsidiary of Avant Garde Security Services, owned by Nissanka Senadhipathi, a retired army major. Around September 2009, the Lankan Navy had commenced providing security to international vessels. In June 2012, the regime abruptly gifted this lucrative task to the new Avant Garde Maritime Services sans cabinet sanctions or parliamentary oversight.

The most favoured status enjoyed by Avant Garde Ltd under the Rajapaksas came to an end with their defeat at the 2015 presidential election. Investigations of the floating armouries owned by the company began soon after. In mid-January, MV Mahanuwara, a floating armoury belonging to the company, was detained by the police at the Galle Harbour. On 23 January, the passport of Nissanka Senadhipathi was impounded.

In April 2015, the then Deputy Solicitor General (DSG) wrote to the Attorney General a letter titled The Case against Avant Garde Maritime Services and others pertaining to the — Floating Armoury (outed by the website The Colombo Telegraph). The letter itemised three legally actionable offenses: unauthorised importation of fire arms to Sri Lanka, possession of fire arms and ammunitions without valid licence, and conspiracy aiding and abetting to commit the above offenses.