A mystery keeps deepening about the family that lived in the official residence of the Sri Lankan Consul General in Los Angeles from August 2013 to July 2015. According to Sri Lankans living in Los Angeles, the family may have very close links to a powerful personality in the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime.
This began with a routine audit conducted at the Sri Lankan Los Angeles Consulate along with few other Sri Lankan missions around the world by the auditors at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During the audit it was reveled some financial misappropriation during the period of 2013 to 2015.
The residence of the Sri Lankan Consul General – 1905 Alpha Road in Glendale, in the Los Angeles county in California featured prominently in the audit that prompted a FCID investigation. This spacious luxurious home was rented for $8200 per month by then Consul General Dr. Hector Weerasinghe in February 2013. In July 30th 2013, Dr. Weerasinghe’s term ended and he vacated the residence. Mr. Malraj De Silva was appointed as the new Consul General but he never occupied the official residence. Mysteriously this official residence had occupants who enjoyed all the luxuries and privileges accorded to the Los Angeles Sri Lankan Consul General. Furthermore, the cost that Sri Lankan tax payers had to bear from August 2013 to June 2015 was $174300/. This was confirmed by Ms. Swarna Gunaratne, Consul General in Los Angeles when contacted by Boston Lanka. In addition to this amount no one knows what happened to the security deposit of $10,000/ which would normally get back if the home was given in good condition.
However, it is not just the rent and utilities but the audit report claims that two official drivers have worked almost exclusively for this mysterious family for almost two years. They have not reported to the Sri Lankan Consulate in Los Angeles, yet the attaché Mahes Kumar had authorized their salaries throughout this period.
According to the logs maintained by the drivers they had driven to Pomona College in Claremont California, daily. Although there are many speculations about the reasons why they drove daily from Glendale to Claremont it is evident that these trips have nothing to do with official consulate matters.
As recently, the FCID has begun investigation on this financial misappropriation and various other financial irregularities that had happened during last few years at the Sri Lankan Consulate in Los Angeles.
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