Former President’s Chief of Staff, State Timber Corporation head sentenced over bribery charges

Former President’s Chief of Staff I.H.K. Mahanama and former State Timber Corporation head Piyadasa Dissanayake were found guilty of bribery charges levelled against them yesterday.

Mahanama was sentenced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and was ordered to pay a fine of Rs. 65,000 as well as a penalty of Rs. 20 million. He was the Lands Ministry Secretary prior to being appointed as the former President’s Chief of Staff, a position he remained in until the day of the arrest.

Dissanayake, who headed the State Timber Corporation until the day of the arrest, received a sentencing of 12 years rigorous imprisonment and was ordered to pay a fine of Rs. 55,000. Charges were made against the two defendants by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) and the case was heard before the Permanent High Court Trail-at-Bar.

According to CIABOC, K.P. Nagaraja, an Indian businessman and investor, had lodged a complaint with them over the incident. The individual had come to Sri Lanka over an investment in the Kantale Sugar Factory. 

The initial bribe solicited by Mahanama was $3 million and this was in exchange for the full possession of land, structures, and machinery of the factory. The bribe was then reduced to Rs. 100 million by Mahanama and Dissanayake. An advance of this amount, Rs. 20 million, was to be made on 3 May, 2018. It was during this payment that CIABOC arrested the suspects.

The trial proceedings lasted for close to three months, with 22 witnesses, 116 documents, and 62 productions.