A heated exchange between former presidents Ranil Wickremesinghe and Chandrika Kumaratunga unfolded during the 45th National Conference of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka. The dispute centered on allegations that a prominent political figure’s son had concealed $1 billion in a Dubai bank.

Chandrika claimed she personally saw bank statements in 2015 but lamented the inability to pursue legal action due to a lack of original documents. "We could not charge him in court," she said.

In response, Ranil insisted that his administration sent teams to Dubai, including officials from the Police and Bribery Commission, but found no evidence of the money. "The bank stated they could not disclose anything without a court order," he explained. He also pointed out that efforts to trace the money in Europe and Asia were unsuccessful.

Ranil criticized the ongoing political discourse around corruption, emphasizing the need for sophisticated mechanisms to combat it. He expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of current anti-corruption measures, arguing that previous efforts had largely failed.

As the debate intensified, Ranil highlighted the necessity for specialized training to identify and recover hidden money, reiterating that without proper systems, progress against corruption would remain elusive.