Sri Lanka’s hopes of Olympic glory in Paris 2024 are vanishing faster than an ice cube in a Colombo heatwave. With just four athletes qualifying out of a population of nearly 24 million, and two wild cards generously provided by the IOC, it seems the country’s best bet to ‘steal’ a medal for his country might just be Maxwell De Silva, the current NOCSL Secretary General.
This man, an absolute wild card with an uncanny knack for dodging the law for years amid allegations of fraud, corruption, and theft, might just be the country’s best hope for swiping a medal right under the noses of IOC officials. If anyone can pull off an Olympic heist, it’s Maxwell, armed with a legacy of fraud and a rap sheet that reads like a crime novel.
Maxwell, who could easily clinch gold in the ‘Who’s Who of Corruption,’ has been at the center of numerous scandals. With allegations ranging from fraud and corruption to human smuggling through sports and orchestrating mass disappearances at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, he’s the Houdini of the NOCSL. Under his watch, athletes and officials vanished like rabbits in a magician’s hat in Birmingham UK.
However, as the legal noose now tightens around Maxwell’s neck, one can only wonder if he’ll manage one last magic trick in Paris: slipping away with an Olympic medal. Rumor has it, IOC officials are guarding the medals like hawks, fully aware of Maxwell’s illustrious past. After all, they don’t want to end up like the Commonwealth Games, where medals disappeared as quickly as Maxwell’s accountability.
For over a decade, Maxwell’s reign along with his ‘A’ Team of associates has been a circus of unchecked power and missing financial reports.
Who needs a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow when you’ve got the NOCSL’s treasury at your disposal?
Filling key positions with cronies was a masterstroke. Enter Gamini Jayasinghe, a treasurer with as much financial expertise as a goldfish, and a former prisons commissioner to boot. His network of government pals ensured any whiff of fraud was buried deeper than Maxwell’s scruples.Treasurer Gamini Jayasinghe, who notably lacks a finance background, was embroiled in a scandal for allegedly accepting ‘protection’ payments from Potta Naufer, a notorious inmate convicted of murdering a High Court Judge. It’s alleged that Jayasinghe’s hockey trips to Bangkok were also funded by ‘Potta’ Naufer. The history of these incidents underscores the deep-rooted issues within NOCSL.
Next up, Vice President Suranjith Premadasa, a businessman running a non-existent equestrian sport from his personal office. If that doesn’t scream ‘qualified,’ what does? Then there’s Chandana Liyanage, the Assistant Secretary who was kicked out by his mercantile employer for fraud, yet found a warm welcome at NOCSL. And let’s not forget Media Manager Gobinath Shivarajah, who managed to get detained by immigration officials, while trying to flee the country, despite a travel ban. His crime? Forging documents and pocketing funds for a fictitious Dance Sport Association created by Maxwell and Gamini.
Despite calls for transparency, there’s significant resistance within the organization against conducting a forensic audit, even though it was approved at the NOCSL Annual General Meeting in the year 2021. Such an audit is seen as crucial for revealing the full extent of the corruption that has plagued the NOCSL for years. Many suggest that an audit of Secretary General De Silva could potentially uncover the extent of ill-gotten gains he has amassed over the years through bribes, commissions, and kickbacks during his more than two decades of so-called honorary service.
Recently, the country’s Parliament caught wind of these shenanigans, prompting a Ministry of Sports investigation. The resulting 24-page document, currently in The Morning Telegraph’s possession, is as confidential as a loudspeaker at a whispering contest, exposing the depths of the corruption. This report might be the much-needed saving grace for the NOCSL, with hopes that the newly appointed Ethics Committee, headed by Dinal Phillips (PC), Dr. Harsha Cabraal (PC), and Dr. Seevali Abeywickrema, can deliver justice for Sri Lankan sports and bring the culprits to book.
Yet, even with all this evidence, cases against Maxwell and his merry band of thieves have been shelved for years. It’s almost as if there’s an unspoken contest in Sri Lanka’s institutions that investigate cases of fraud, corruption and bribery: who can ignore corruption the longest?
Even as the country reels from this circus, Maxwell and his treasurer Gamini continue to still pocket per diems and submit fraudulent bills like it’s an Olympic sport. Scholarships meant for deserving athletes have been doled out to close associates, proving that in Sri Lanka, it’s not about what you know, but who you bribe.
The pitiful representation of just four athletes and two wild cards at the Olympics is a national embarrassment and a direct reflection of the country’s mismanagement. With nearly 24 million people, Sri Lanka’s sports scene is as desolate as a desert.
But wait, there’s a glimmer of hope! MAS Holdings has generously pledged Rs 600 million for future Olympic athletes, aiming for the 2028 or 2032 Olympic Games.
For this dream to materialize, though, Maxwell and his kleptomaniac cronies need to be ousted. Only then can Sri Lanka’s talented sportsmen and women have a fighting chance to win an Olympic medal and bring home the glory.
Until then, our best hope remains in Maxwell De Silva and his audacious plans whilst he is still in Paris, the city of love.
Who knows? Maybe he’ll pull off the heist of the century and walk away from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games with a shiny medal at the very least.
