Former Secretary of the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development, Gotabaya Rajapaksa today rejected allegations leveled against him regarding an account in the Taprobane Branch of the Bank of Ceylon containing nearly Rs 8 billion under his name.

In a press conference yesterday, Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake stated that a sum of Rs. 7,500 million was found in the bank account under the name of the former Defence Secretary and that the money has now been transferred to the Treasury.

However, Rajapaksa refuted the allegation in a media release today. “This is grossly misleading and appears to discredit my reputation with ulterior motive,” the statement said.

The statement further stated that there is an Operational Account held with the Bank of Ceylon Taprobane Branch dedicated for the use of financing the construction of Army Headquarters building at Pelawatta.

Rajapaksa has also added that the account was created with the approval of the Cabinet from the revenue from the sale of land where the Army Headquarters was previously located near Galle Face, Colombo.

He further clarified that the account is operated by the Chief Accountant and other authorized officials of the Ministry of Defence under the overall supervision of the Secretary of Defence. “All cheques are issued with two signatures upon the receipts of certified payment vouchers. As I recall, the Account was open with the total receipts of about Rs. 20 billion in 2011 and withdrawals have been made each year thereafter for the payment of certified claims from contractors,” Rajapaksa has also said.

“As I have ceased to be the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, my successor is the automatic custodian of that Account and he can verify all these. My name appears in the signature card in my capacity as Secretary Defence along with other authorized officials and hence it has nothing to do with my personal account”  the former Defence Secretary has also said.

“Therefore, there is no truth whatsoever that I have a personal account in the Bank of Ceylon with Rs. 8 billion. I deny this completely and request the Secretary to verify this with the bank and the Treasury and disclose the correct situation on this account,” he said.