Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday (25) denied any wrongdoing following an Australian media report that claimed his adviser had allegedly demanded a kickback to approve a project during his tenure as Cabinet minister.

The Sydney Morning Herald had carried a story on an Australian police investigation that president’s Coordinating Secretary had demanded a kickback to approve a project when he was a minister in the Cabinet in 2011.

Presidential media unit said that the President had denied the allegation and said that he had advised the Attorney General to take necessary action on the allegation. “I have at no time in my public life had engaged in corruption,” president was quoted by the presidential media unit as saying.

The statement came as the Anti-Corruption Movement, which had backed current president in the presidential election, demanded an explanation on the accusation.

SMEC's Sri Lankan manager, who was recently sacked, wrote in emails to two Australian colleagues that he wanted to "inform the minister/co-ordinating secretary" of the size of an alleged kickback to be paid and that he needed to "prioritise" certain payments to unnamed parties "since the signing of the contract would depend" on it, the Australian media report said.

The internal investigation in the Australian company under question had found no evidence of any bribe being paid, the report however had said.