Former Foreign Employment Bureau chairman Mohamed Hilmi granted bail

By Bhagya Silva

Colombo, Dec. 9 (Daily Mirror) - Former Chairman of the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau, Mohamed Hilmi, who had been in remand custody over allegations of corruption, was released on bail by Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama today.

The Magistrate ordered that the suspect be released on two surties of Rs. 2 million each and also imposed a foreign travel ban on him.

The suspect was not produced before court today by the prison authorities. They informed court through a report that the suspect was receiving treatment at the National Hospital in Colombo due to an illness.

President’s Counsel Anuja Premarathna, appearing for the suspect, made an application for bail, citing his client’s medical condition.

Having considered these facts, the Chief Magistrate ruled that the suspect’s medical condition constituted special grounds for granting bail.

The suspect was arrested by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption on November 25 and was subsequently remanded till today.

Investigations revealed that in January 2024, while preparations were underway to select an institution to provide external training for officials of the Foreign Employment Bureau, the suspect had allegedly influenced public officers to select a company named JSF Holdings, resulting in his arrest.

The case was fixed for February 17.