Former SLT Chairman Exposes RW: “I was Pressured to Accomodate a Blacklisted Company” 

As the government probes the VFS Global Visitor Visa scam, former Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) Chairman Rohan Fernando has made a startling revelation as to how he was once pressured to accommodate a company that was blacklisted by his board. 

In a bold statement, Fernando disclosed that he was urged by an individual identified as “RW” in the presence of another person referred to as “GR” to favor a company named Just In Time (JIT), which was barred from dealings with SLT for supplying substandard equipment.

Fernando, however, stood firm and refused to comply, citing his commitment to upholding the decision of his board based on substantial evidence.

Rohan Fernando was later removed from his position as Chairman by the SLT Board, a move he previously described as a “Boardroom Coup.”

While he did not explicitly name the individuals, the initials “RW” and “GR” are widely recognized by the public as those of two former Presidents: Ranil Wickremesinghe (RW) and Gotabaya Rajapaksa (GR).

Highlighting the severity of the issue, Fernando pointed out that JIT is involved in the passport business and called on the nation’s new leadership to hold those responsible accountable for manipulating unsolicited tenders. He emphasized the need for legal provisions to be implemented to recover billions of dollars lost due to these corrupt practices.

Fernando’s powerful statement reads: “Just In Time, which supplied substandard equipment to SLT and was blacklisted by the Board in 2021, is involved in the passport business. I was personally pressured by RW in front of GR to accommodate JIT, despite the board’s decision based on substantive evidence, which I refused to reverse. Now you know the nexus behind these manipulative deals on unsolicited tenders. It’s over to the next leaders to bring them to justice and recover the billions of dollars lost to the country as a result.”

Whilst a reliable source confirmed that the comment was made by Rohan Fernando, he also further stated that Fernando had messaged him stating “The Passport scam appeared in the news. Court order on cancellation of the contract to JIT was issued last week.”

Incidentally, Jit Warnakulasuriya is the founder and former chairman of Just In Time Group (JIT) in Sri Lanka. He started the company 23 years ago and has since seen it grow into a leader in the local ICT landscape. JIT has also diversified into other areas, including higher education, leisure, hospitality, and finance.

With this revelation, Fernando who incidentally is married to Varuni Amunugama has cast a spotlight on the deep-rooted corruption and political interference that has plagued Sri Lanka’s public sector, urging the authorities to act swiftly to bring transparency and accountability back to governance.