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Thursday, January 07, 2010 - 05.15 GMT |
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Fonseka’s son-in-law admits his company was awarded arms contracts
Confirms Fonseka’s role as Tender Board head |
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Retired
General
Sarath
Fonseka’s
son- in-
law has
admitted
that the
Army
Tender
Board
chaired
by Gen
Fonseka
has
awarded
tenders
to
HiCorp
International
&
British
Borneo
Defence,
of which
he is
the
Chairman.
Acknowledging
his
ownership
of the
company
registered
in
Oklahoma,
USA,
Danuna
Tilakaratne
claimed
that Gen
Fonseka’s
decision
to award
these
tenders
while
being
the
Chairman
of the
Army
Tender
Board
had “not
affected
due to
my
relationship
with him
or his
ownership
in the
company.”
Tilakaratne,
in a
letter
posted
on the
website
of
Hicorp
International
(http://www.hicorp.us/index.htm)
admitted
that the
Tender
Board of
the Sri
Lanka
Army has
awarded
tenders
to his
company
for
supply
of arms
and
equipment
and
claims
that
“these
tenders
were
granted
due to
the
lower
bids we
consistently
offered
to the
Sri
Lankan
forces.”
However,
his
letter
refrained
from
commenting
on the
charge
that he
had
received
quotations
of other
companies
in
advance
so
HiCorp
could
quote a
figure
few
cents
lower
than
others.
He says
that
there
had not
been any
undue
influence
in
granting
tenders
to his
company.
Tilakaratne,
referring
to the
allegation
made in
Parliament
against
the
tender
procedure
(Tuesday,
05 Dec)
says
that he
had
decided
to post
the
letter
on the
website
to
clarify
the
issue.
However,
he
failed
to say
whether
it was
ethical
for Gen
Fonseka
to sit
as
Tender
Board
head and
grant
tenders
to a
company
owned
partly
by
himself
and his
son-in-law.
Following
is the
full
text of
the
letter:
OUR
ATTENTION
HAS BEEN
BROUGHT
TO
CERTAIN
ALLEGATIONS
MADE IN
THE
PARLIAMENT
OF
SRI LANKA
REGARDING
NUMBER
OF
TRANSACTIONS
WITH THE
SRI LANKA
ARMY. AS
THE
PRESIDENT
OF THE
COMPANY
I WISH
TO
CLARIFY
THE
ISSUES
RELATING
TO THE
TRANSACTION
IN THE
FOLLOWING
MANNER,
FOR THE
BENIFIT
OF THE
GENERAL
PUBLIC
Our
company,
Hicorp
International,
has
followed
the
proper
procedures
when
bidding
for
tenders
with the
Sri
Lankan
Army,
Navy and
Air
Force.
As
President
of
HiCorp
International,
I take
full
responsibility
for all
tenders
bid for
by us,
and our
partner
companies
British
Borneo
Defense,
Satpro
Communications
and
Hitrone
LC. We
believe
that
these
tenders
were
granted
due to
the
lower
bids we
consistently
offered
to the
Sri
Lankan
forces.
Further,
I would
like to
confirm
that
although
General
Fonseka
was
aware of
these
bids as
Chairman
of the
Tender
Board,
his
decision
to award
the
tenders
to us,
were not
affected
due to
my
relationship
with him
or his
ownership
in the
company.
Thank
you,
Danuna
Tilakaratne
President,
HiCorp
International
&
British
Borneo
Defense
Oklahoma,
USA
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