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Prasanna Ranatunga released on bail
By Bhagya Silva
Colombo, Nov. 12 (Daily Mirror) - Former Minister of Tourism and Aviation Prasanna Ranatunga, who was arrested today by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption, was released on bail by Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama.
The Magistrate ordered Ranatunga’s release on a cash bail of Rs. 100,000 and two sureties of Rs. 5 million each, while also imposing a travel ban preventing him from leaving the country.
In delivering the order, the Magistrate noted that although the Bribery Commission had verbally claimed the suspect attempted to influence witnesses over the phone, no such statement had been recorded or included in the official report submitted to court. The case was fixed for hearing on January 16.
According to the Bribery Commission, Ranatunga was arrested in connection with an alleged financial irregularity in 2021 during his tenure as Minister of Tourism.
Investigations revealed that four institutions under the Tourism Ministry—the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management, and the Sri Lanka Convention Bureau—were required to obtain medical insurance for employees.
Although the coverage could have been directly obtained from the state-owned Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation without any commission, a private brokerage firm, My Insurance Brokers, was engaged as an intermediary. This arrangement allegedly allowed the firm to receive Rs. 4.7 million in commission payments that should not have been made, causing a corresponding loss to the Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation and granting an unlawful benefit to the private company.
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