{"id":186905,"date":"2018-01-31T23:23:46","date_gmt":"2018-01-31T17:53:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=186905"},"modified":"2018-02-01T16:39:12","modified_gmt":"2018-02-01T11:09:12","slug":"mangala-pressured-to-appoint-one-judge-commission-to-investigate-ravaya","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/mangala-pressured-to-appoint-one-judge-commission-to-investigate-ravaya\/","title":{"rendered":"Mangala Pressured To Appoint One-Judge Commission To Investigate R\u0101vaya"},"content":{"rendered":"

Minister of Finance and Mass Media Mangala Samaraweera<\/a> is under pressure from civil society organizations and other interested parties to appoint a Commission of Inquiry to investigate allegations of misappropriation and other wrongdoing by the R\u0101vaya<\/a>\u00a0newspaper, especially its founder editor and Chairman of \u2018R\u0101vaya Publishers (Guarantee) Ltd\u2019 Victor Ivan<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Mangala Samaraweera<\/p><\/div>\n

Civil society activists as well as individuals who had contributed to a fund launched by \u2018R\u0101vaya Solidarity\u2019 (to keep the newspaper afloat) have petitioned Samaraweera to act swiftly on these allegations.<\/p>\n

Colombo Telegraph learns that Samaraweera had initially tried to sidestep the issue, claiming that the matter was not under his purview. He has since changed his mind and is considering appointing a one-member commission of inquiry, most likely a retired judge. This was after it was pointed out that the matter comes directly under him. First, it is a newspaper and mass media is one of the subjects he handles. More importantly, R\u0101vaya Publishers is registered as a company and comes under the Registrar of Companies, who comes under Samaraweera in his capacity as Minister of Finance.<\/p>\n

Although these developments come in the wake of what has been described as an editorial coup<\/a> whereby Ivan orchestrated the appointment of Wimalanath Weeraratne as Editor after K.W. Janaranjana was forced to resign, it is not a question of editorial independence, according to sources among those pushing the minister to act in this manner.<\/p>\n

One of the reasons is that the Registrar of Companies is still to investigate or give a determination on a complaint filed two years ago regarding Ivan\u2019s misappropriation of money to the tune of Rs 10 million. Ivan has claimed that he sold \u2018shares\u2019 whereas a \u2018Guarantee Limited\u2019 company, by definition is a not-for-profit entity.<\/p>\n

R\u0101vaya being a Company limited by guarantee and operating as a not-for-profit organization, much like an NGO, does not and cannot have provision for Ivan or anyone else to claim monies that have been collected for a fund of this kind.<\/p>\n

The relevant conditions are enshrined in Section 34 of the Companies Act<\/span><\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere the Registrar is satisfied that an association about to be formed as a company limited by guarantee is to be formed for promoting commerce, art, science, religion, charity, sport, or any other useful object, and intends to apply its profits, if any, or other income in promoting its objects, and to prohibit the payment of any dividend to its members.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sections 32-34 are the applicable Sections. And here’s the Section that specifically exempts shares, debentures etc from companies limited by guarantee;<\/p>\n

THIRD SCHEDULE [Section 35 (1)]\u00a0PROVISIONS WHICH DO NOT APPLY TO COMPANIES LIMITED BY GUARANTEE
\nPart IV (Shares and Debentures)
\nSections 93 to 98 (Minority buy-out rights)
\nSections 99 to 101 (Interest groups)
\nSection 123(1)(b) and (c) (Company to maintain share register)
\nSection 124(1) and (3) (Place of share register)
\nSections 198 to 200 (Disclosure of director\u2019s interests in shares)
\nSection 220 (Duty of directors on serious loss of capital)<\/p>\n

Furthermore when \u2018Ravaya Solidarity\u2019 solicited contributions it was not disclosed that part of the fund would be used to pay Ivan.<\/p>\n

As has been demonstrated by Colombo Telegraph, Ravaya received millions of rupees from NGOs and INGOs as well as politicians such as former president Chandrika Kumaratunga and Lalith Athulathmudali. Ivan and the Ravaya were also supported by Mahinda Rajapaksa through advertising and the freezing of taxes amounting to approximately Rs 10.2 million during a period when Ivan chose to go soft on the former President.<\/p>\n

Related stories;<\/strong><\/p>\n

Victor Ivan Pocketed Half Of R\u0101vaya\u2019s Rs 10 Million Fund<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

R\u0101vaya \u2018Staff-Shareholders\u2019 Clueless About Ivan\u2019s Rs 5 Million Heist<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I Got Just Rs 1000 For My Share, Says R\u0101vaya Founder Director And Deputy Editor Colambage<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Sajin Vass\u2019 Restaurant Tip Same As \u2018Hashish\u2019 Ivan\u2019s Salary<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Ivan Must Return The Bucks He Took: Supporters Including 73 Year Old Pensioner Demand<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Ivan\u2019s Rs 5 Million Heist Goes To Fraud Bureau<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Ranil Hits Sixers Off Full-Tosses Bowled By Fraudster<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

R\u0101vaya Backtracks, Starts Paying Back Swindled Contributor<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Ravaya Editor Pressured By Victor Ivan, Submits Resignation<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[…]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":186907,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,2186,1,2375],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-186905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-featured-news","category-news","category-stories"],"yoast_head":"\nMangala Pressured To Appoint One-Judge Commission To Investigate R\u0101vaya - Colombo Telegraph<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/mangala-pressured-to-appoint-one-judge-commission-to-investigate-ravaya\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mangala Pressured To Appoint One-Judge Commission To Investigate R\u0101vaya - 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