A government-appointed committee investigating financial irregularities at Sri Lanka’s Central Cultural Fund (CCF) has uncovered the misuse of more than Rs. 8 billion across multiple projects between 2017 and 2020—none of which received approval from the Fund’s Board of Governors.
The findings were disclosed by Deputy Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, Gamagedara Dissanayake, during a District Development Committee meeting in Matale on 20 September. He described the scale of mismanagement as “large” and “systemic.”
The committee, chaired by retired Supreme Court Justice Pradeep Jayathilaka, was established in July 2025 to examine allegations of misconduct within the CCF.
Preliminary findings suggest that financial decisions were taken without due process or oversight during a period when current Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa held the portfolio of Minister of Cultural Affairs.
Dissanayake said legal action would follow once the committee’s final report is submitted, stressing that accountability will be pursued “regardless of position or political affiliation.”
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