Former President Ranil to appear before Bribery Commission on Monday

Saturday, 26 April 2025 01:26 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Former President

Ranil Wickremesinghe

Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe is scheduled to appear before the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) on Monday (28), in connection with a statement he made regarding corruption charges against MP Chamara Sampath Dassanayake.

Wickremesinghe’s legal team formally notified the Commission that he will be present at 9:30 a.m. on the specified date, after previously requesting a postponement from the original summons issued for 17 April, citing the unavailability of his attorneys during the Sinhala and Tamil New Year holidays. The Commission had subsequently granted a revised date of 25 April, which has now been rescheduled once more to 28 April.

The summons relates to remarks made by Wickremesinghe on 7 April, when he defended Dassanayake’s actions by claiming that the MP had operated under a circular issued during Wickremesinghe’s own tenure as Prime Minister. The former President publicly questioned whether Dassanayake’s arrest was politically motivated, noting the MP’s recent criticism of the Government in Parliament.

MP Chamara Sampath Dassanayake, a member of the New Democratic Front, was arrested on 27 March over three separate cases of alleged corruption. He remains in remand custody due to an order issued by the Badulla Magistrate’s Court, despite having secured bail in cases filed at the Colombo Magistrate’s Court.

The charges against Dassanayake involve the misappropriation of Rs. 1 million from the Uva Provincial Council in 2016. CIABOC alleges that he solicited funds from three State banks under the pretext of procuring school bags for preschool children in the province. Two banks released Rs. 1 million and Rs. 2.5 million respectively, which were later transferred to his personal foundation account. When a third bank refused, Dassanayake is accused of retaliating by withdrawing the Uva Provincial Council’s fixed deposits from that institution, resulting in a reported loss of Rs. 17.3 million to the Government.

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