Mahindananda Aluthgamage

Mahindananda Aluthgamage
මහින්දානන්ද අලුත්ගමගේ
மஹிந்தானந்த அளுத்கமகே
Minister for Sport
In office
22 November 2010 – 12 January 2015
PresidentMahinda Rajapaksa
Prime MinisterD. M. Jayaratne
Preceded byC. B. Rathnayake
Succeeded byNavin Dissanayake
Ministry of Power and Energy
Member of Parliament
for Kandy District
In office
2000 – 24 September 2024
Personal details
Born (1964-11-21) 21 November 1964
Nawalapitiya, Central Province, Sri Lanka
Political partySri Lanka Freedom Party
SpouseSenani Jayarathne
Residence(s)No. 2/110, Wijerama Mawatha, Colombo 07.
Alma materRoyal College, Colombo
Gangasiripura Vidyalaya Gampola
OccupationPolitician
Criminal information
Criminal statusIncarcerated
ConvictionCorruption
Criminal penalty20 years

Mahindananda Aluthgamage (born 21 November 1964) was a Sri Lankan politician and the Minister of Sports.[1] He has also served as Deputy Minister of Power and Energy.[2]

He was elected as a Member of Parliament representing the Kandy Electoral District. He was educated at Gangasiripura Vidyalaya Gampola[3][4] and Royal College Colombo. He lost his position as a minister in 2015 when President Mahinda Rajapaksha was defeated in the 2015 presidential election. He is well known for his ability to speak Sinhala, Tamil and English fluently and gained popularity among the Tamil community for his political rallies in Northern Province.[5]

On 29 May 2025, Aluthgamage was convicted of corruption by the Colombo High Court and was sentenced to twenty years of rigorous imprisonment.[6][7][8]

Career

He entered mainstream politics in 1990 at the age of 25.[5] He served as a people's representative in the Sri Lankan Parliament in 2000, 2001, 2004, 2010 and 2020. He served as the minister of sports from 2010 to 2015.[9][10][11]

He was sworn in as the state minister of Power and Energy on 27 November 2019.[12] In February 2020, his position was later changed and modified as state minister of Renewable Energy and Power.[13] In June 2020, he was appointed as the spokesperson for the Sri Lankan government.[14] In June 2020, he completed his 30 years of politics.[15]

Aluthgamage lost his parliamentary seat in 2024.[16] Following the electoral defeat, he announced his retirement from politics.[17]

Controversies

In 2018, he was accused of mishandling the funds during his tenure as sports minister from 2010 to 2015 and was arrested regarding the funds spent on imported cricket and other sports equipments.[18][9]

Fixing allegations

On 18 June 2020, in an interview with News First he made a shocking allegation that during his tenure as sports minister the 2011 World Cup final featuring India and Sri Lanka was fixed and further claimed that the 2011 World Cup trophy was sold to India without specifying any evidence.[19][20] He didn't reveal the details of the cricketers supposedly involved and insisted that he will not disclose the details for the sake of the country with absolute responsibility.[21] His comments drew widespread criticism and global media attention among the cricket fraternity.[22][23] Former Sri Lankan cricketers Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara who were part of the World Cup final denied the allegations and claimed that the minister was seeking for publicity stunt and political advantage ahead of the upcoming parliamentary election.[24] The Ministry of Sports also launched an investigation to probe the allegations made by Mahindananda.[25]

Ex Sri Lanka cricket team captain Arjuna Ranatunga also made a serious allegation that the 2011 Cricket World Cup Final match between India and Sri Lanka had been fixed.[26] Both Aluthgamage and Ranatunga demanded a probe into the events at the final match.[27] The International Cricket Council stated that it will investigate him based on his match-fixing allegations under ICC anti-corruption unit.[28][29] On 25 June 2020, however he claimed that his allegations were only suspicion and demanded for an independent investigation regarding the fixing claims.[30] Although Sri Lankan Police conducted a probe, they later dropped it citing lack of evidence.[31] Later International Cricket Council rubbished the match fixing claims made by Ranatunga and Aluthgamage.[32]

Criminal conviction

On 29 May 2025, Aluthgamage was convicted by the Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar in Colombo and sentenced to twenty years of rigorous imprisonment. The conviction relates to a charge filed in 2019 by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC), accusing him of causing a loss of over Rs. 53 million to the government through the irregular procurement of sports equipment for distribution during the 2015 Sri Lankan presidential election.[6][7][8]

References

  1. ^ "BBCSinhala.com. Sandeshaya. Sri Lanka minister 'to complain' to ICC". BBC. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  2. ^ "Hon State Ministers' Message". Ministry of Power and Energy. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  3. ^ Nihal Jayawardena (23 November 2010). Mahindananda new Sports Minister Archived 27 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine. dailynews.lk
  4. ^ Hafiz Marikar (5 December 2012) All welcome inspiring new Sports Minister. sundayobserver.lk
  5. ^ a b "Mahindananda completes 30 years in politics". Daily News. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  6. ^ a b "Mahindananda sentenced to 20 years RI; Nalin Fernando gets 25 years RI". adaderana.lk. 29 May 2025. Archived from the original on 29 May 2025. Retrieved 29 May 2025.
  7. ^ a b Farzan, Zulfick (29 May 2025). "UPDATE: Mahindananda Gets 20 Years, Nalin Fernando 25 in Corruption Verdict". english.newsfirst.lk. Archived from the original on 29 May 2025. Retrieved 29 May 2025.
  8. ^ a b "Sri Lanka ex-ministers jailed up to 25 years for corruption". Dawn. Pakistan. 29 May 2025. Archived from the original on 30 May 2025. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
  9. ^ a b Niroshani, Dhanushika (3 July 2019). "Case against former Minister of Sports". ciaboc.gov.lk. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  10. ^ "Highest allocation in the history of local sports – Mahindananda Aluthgamage". news.lk. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  11. ^ "Sri Lanka players to be paid soon – sports minister". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  12. ^ "A new power plant to be constructed every 2 years : State Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage". Sri Lanka News – Newsfirst. 29 January 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  13. ^ "Changes in Mahindananda's ministry". lankanewsweb.net. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  14. ^ "Two Ministers appointed Govt. spokespersons. Daily FT". ft.lk. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  15. ^ "Mahindananda Aluthgamage is an honest politician – PM". CeylonToday. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  16. ^ "Rohitha in, Mahindananda out – Breaking News | Daily Mirror". Daily Mirror. Sri Lanka. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
  17. ^ ""Voters have spoken": Mahindananda announces retirement from politics". adaderana.lk. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
  18. ^ MENAFN. "Sri Lanka- Case filed against former Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage". menafn.com. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  19. ^ "'World Cup 2011 final was fixed': Former Sri Lanka Sports Minister comes up with shocking claim". WION. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  20. ^ Mukherjee, Shubro (20 June 2020). "Former Sri Lanka Sports Minister backs his allegations made on match-fixing in 2011 World Cup final". Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  21. ^ "(VIDEO) 2011 Cricket WC Final between India & Sri Lanka was fixed, Ex-SL Sports Minister". Sri Lanka News – Newsfirst. 18 June 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  22. ^ "Former Sri Lanka minister claims 2011 World Cup final was fixed, Sangakkara demands proof". Hindustan Times. 18 June 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  23. ^ "Aravinda de Silva slams ex-SL minister for making outrageous claim of 2011 World Cup final being fixed". timesnownews.com. 22 June 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  24. ^ "Was 2011 World Cup final fixed? Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene respond to shocking claims by former Sri Lanka sports minister". WION. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  25. ^ admin (19 June 2020). "Sports Ministry launches probe on match fixing allegations. Colombo Gazette". Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  26. ^ "Ranatunga Says 2011 World Cup Final was Fixed (14 July 2017)". Business Standard. 14 July 2017. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  27. ^ "Arjuna Ranatunga Demands Probe into 2011 World Cup Final (14 July 2017)". india.com. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  28. ^ "ICC to speak with Ex-Minister Mahindananda on Match-Fixing allegations". Sri Lanka News – Newsfirst. 22 June 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  29. ^ Mukherjee, Shubro (23 June 2020). "ICC to look at match-fixing allegations of 2011 WC final as levelled by ex-Sri Lanka sports minister". Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  30. ^ "After declaring SL sold 2011 WC final to India, Lankan minister says it's his suspicion". Hindustan Times. 25 June 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  31. ^ "Sri Lanka Police Drops Match Fixing Probe (3 July 2020)". Hindustan Times. 3 July 2020. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  32. ^ "ICC Rubbishes Match Fixing Allegations (4 July 2020)". The Indian Express. 3 July 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
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