Three former Trade Ministry officials arrested on corruption charges

Colombo, Feb. 25 (Daily Mirror) - Three former senior officials of the Ministry of Trade have been arrested by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) over alleged corruption linked to a procurement process.

The suspects have been identified as former Trade Ministry Secretary A.M. Priyanka Madduma Bandara Atapattu, former Additional Secretary (Administration) Doraisamy Jivanannadam, and Chief Financial Officer Aravinda Priyardharshani de Silva.

According to CIABOC, the three accused have been charged with causing financial loss to the government and the institution by failing to award the bid to the successful investor in a procurement process conducted to launch an online lottery aimed at funding the Lalith Athulathmudali Mahapola Higher Education Scholarship Trust Fund. Instead, they allegedly called for fresh bids, an act investigators claim amounted to corruption.

The first and second accused are further charged with soliciting and accepting a bribe of Rs. 1 million from a company affiliated with an institution that had been rejected during the initial bid process, during the subsequent re-calling of bids.

The suspects are scheduled to be produced before the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court.