Thilanga Sumathipala

Uduwatuwage Janath Priya Thilanga Sumathipala MP (born 3 May 1964) (known as Thilanga Sumathipala) is a Sri Lankan politician who was the former deputy speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka since 2015 and former President of Sri Lanka Cricket (2016–2019).[1]

Hon.
Thilanga Sumathipala
MP
තිලංග සුමතිපාල
திலங்க சுமதிபால
Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka
In office
1 September 2015 – 12 April 2018
PresidentMaithripala Sirisena
Prime MinisterRanil Wickremesinghe
Preceded byChandima Weerakkody
Succeeded byAnanda Kumarasiri
Member of Parliament
for National List
In office
2015–2020
Member of Parliament
for Colombo District
In office
2010–2015
Personal details
Born (1964-05-03) 3 May 1964
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Political partySri Lanka Freedom Party
Residence(s)59 Ananda Rajakaruna Mw,
Colombo 10, Sri Lanka.
Alma materNalanda College Colombo
OccupationPolitics
ProfessionBusinessman
Websitethilanga.lk

Previously he served as deputy minister of Skills Development and Vocational Training.[2] He is a member of parliament representing the Colombo District. He served as a member of the Western Provincial Council and was the Sri Lanka Freedom Party chief organiser for the Borella Electorate in Colombo District.

He is also the chairman of the Thimbirigasyaya Divisional Secretariat Development Coordination Committee and the managing director of one of the largest private corporate groups of companies in Sri Lanka.

He is a leading business magnates in Sri Lanka. He has been accused and is under investigation by the ICC's Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) for alleged charges of corruption.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]

Early life and education

Thilanga Sumathipala was born on 3 May 1964 in Colombo. He received his education at Nalanda College Colombo and London College of Communication, UK. While at school Thilanga excelled in cricket and was the vice captain of the Nalanda College first XI team in 1982.[11]

Career

Sumathipala chaired two telecommunication companies namely Sri Lanka Telecom and Mobitel (Pvt) Ltd from 2002 to 2004. He was the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka in 1997–1998, 2000–2001 and 2003–2004. Between 1998 and 2000 he was the director of the International Cricket Council and the president of the Asian Cricket Council in 1997–1998. He was also the chairman of the Asian Cricket Committee in 2000–2001.[12]

Corruption Allegations

Sumathipala has multiple accusations of corruption against him, and is under investigation by the ICC's Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU), who presented a report claiming that Sumathipala made an alleged request for a bribe of US$100,000, in order to give the television contract to World Tel in 1997.[13]

The ICC's Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) stated the following in their report, “GP (Glyn Palmer) claimed that in 1997 the TV rights for Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) were sold to Mark Mascarenas (now deceased) and his company WorldTel Inc. GP claimed that a 100,000 USD bribe was paid to TS (Thilanga Sumathipala) for these rights,”.

The report was signed by Alex Marshal, head of ICC's Anti-Corruption, who further stated that “A fax was also copied which appeared to be a request from Sumathipala to Palmer to contact Mascarenas and giving details of an account for Euro Comlink, for transactions. Bank statements provided by GP showed 3 further payments totalling 35,750 USD paid into the same account.”[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][14][15][16][17][18] [19]

References
  1. "Shammi Silva elected president of Sri Lanka Cricket". www.espncricinfo.com. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  2. Thilanga Sumathipala assumes duties as deputy minister
  3. "Who is responsible for dragging SLC to the mouths of chaos and corruption?". 4 June 2020.
  4. AmilaSaman. "Report alleges ICC investigation unearthed evidence of corruption by Sumathipala". Islandcricket.lk. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  5. "Sumathipala can be tried in court based on ICC anti-corruption report – Harin". 7 January 2020.
  6. "The real deal behind the 1997 cricket TV deal | Times Online - Daily Online Edition of The Sunday Times Sri Lanka". Sundaytimes.lk. 27 October 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  7. "Sri Lanka cricket rated most corrupt by ICC: minister". Sports.yahoo.com. 31 December 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  8. "Thilanga banned from sports administration".
  9. "Sri Lanka rated most corrupt cricket nation in the world by ICC, says country's sports minister Harin Fernando - Firstcricket News, Firstpost". Firstpost.com. 31 December 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  10. "Sri Lankans with betting interests to be barred from SLC". 22 August 2019.
  11. 54th Battle of the Maroons – Nalanda Team
  12. ICC Code of Ethics.Section 7(d)
  13. Dias (27 October 2019). "The real deal behind the 1997 cricket TV deal". Islandcricket.lk. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  14. "'Sri Lanka has improved' – ICC Anti-Corruption chief Alex Marshall | Print Edition - The Sunday Times, Sri Lanka". Sundaytimes.lk. 7 November 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  15. "ICC urges Sri Lanka to come clean on corruption | Cricket". Hindustan Times. 29 January 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  16. "Sri Lanka corruption whistleblowers get '15-day amnesty'". France 24. 9 January 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  17. Che (30 May 2019). "The state of Sri Lankan cricket: corruption, sanctions and amnesty". Islandcricket.lk. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  18. "Sri Lanka cricket rated most corrupt by ICC". 31 December 2018.
  19. https://www.dailynews.lk/2018/08/01/sports/158492/cricket-legends-slam-sumathipala-match-fixing-allegations
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