ACC housing probe without updates for two months

Despite an ongoing investigation by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) into the government’s decision to allocate ‘Gedhoruveriya’ flats to applicants with 75 points before those with 76 points and above, there have been no updates or news from the commission for over two months.

This case involves 301 individuals who scored above 76 points but were not selected for flat allocation draws, while those with lower scores were. The Housing Ministry initially filed the case with the ACC on June 6, citing observed discrepancies.

Nearly two months have passed since then, and Sun has repeatedly attempted to obtain a statement from the ACC regarding the matter. When contacted on Thursday, the commission's media officer stated that updates would be shared once received, but subsequent attempts to reach him were unsuccessful.

The list of flat recipients, originally released during the final days of the MDP administration, was also previously under ACC investigation. The anti-corruption watchdog initially ordered the suspension of flat issuance before finally approving the Housing Ministry to proceed in February 2024.

The current administration released a new list of recipients after a year-long verification process in February. However, following public outcry over a high number of disqualifications, it was decided that the flats would be issued based on the original list.

This 'list' was not made public but was handed over to the Fahi Dhiriulhun Corporation (FDC) to facilitate agreement signings with flat recipients, a process that began on July 21 last year. Two weeks ago, the FDC commenced handing over some of the flats to their owners.