Duminda Silva named as suspect in Rs. 15 million bribery case

Colombo, March 3 (Daily Mirror) - The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption informed court that former Parliamentarian and former Chairman of the National Housing Development Authority, R. Duminda Silva, has been named as a suspect in connection with an alleged bribery incident involving Rs. 15 million.

The Bribery Commission made these submissions when producing before court a suspect named Mohomad Mohideen Sapras Nawaz, who had been arrested over the incident.

The Commission informed court that the suspect was produced in connection with the alleged acceptance of a bribe of Rs. 5 million to secure bail for a suspect known as “Dematagoda Ruwan,” who is reputed to be a large-scale drug trafficker and was arrested over allegations of illicit earnings.

The Commission further stated that the bribe money had allegedly been obtained with the knowledge of R. Duminda Silva during his tenure as Chairman of the National Housing Development Authority. It was also revealed that another suspect who had allegedly received Rs. 10 million in connection with the incident is now deceased.

After considering the submissions, the Chief Magistrate ordered the Bribery Commission to conduct investigations regarding R. Duminda Silva, who has been named as a suspect and to report facts to court. 

The suspect produced before court was ordered to be remanded till March 13.

During further submissions, the Bribery Commission stated that Dematagoda Ruwan had been arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department following an investigation conducted by the Illegal Assets Investigation Division. It was alleged that bribe money had been obtained from Ruwan’s son, Tharindu, in order to prevent the arrest of Ruwan’s family members and to facilitate bail for Ruwan.

The Commission informed court that after meeting complainant Tharindu, R. Duminda Silva had allegedly instructed him to meet the suspect produced before court to make arrangements for securing bail. Accordingly, the money had been handed over following that meeting. R. Duminda Silva was named as the second suspect in the case. 

The Commission requested that the suspect be remanded as further investigations are ongoing.

Appearing for the suspect, counsel Nisith Abeysooriya submitted that if money had been received, it had been handed over to a lawyer for the purpose of obtaining bail. He further stated that Ruwan is currently out on bail and that there is another case pending against him. He also informed court that the complainant had previously withdrawn a complaint when the matter was earlier taken up in court.

At this stage, the Magistrate questioned the Commission as to why the complainant had withdrawn the earlier complaint. The Commission responded that the complaint had been withdrawn due to threats faced by the complainant.

The Commission further stated that investigations subsequently commenced into the incident, leading to the identification and arrest of the suspects.

The Magistrate also inquired whether investigations had been conducted regarding the claim that the money had been handed over to a lawyer. The Commission responded that such a statement had been made only last morning and that a statement from the lawyer appearing in the case is to be recorded.

After considering the submissions of both parties, the Chief Magistrate ordered that the suspect be remanded till the 13th. The court further directed the Bribery Commission to file a summary of evidence against R. Duminda Silva and to record a statement from the relevant lawyer and submit it to court.