Bribery Commission Tightens Case Against Rajitha

COLOMBO (News 1st); Colombo High Court Judge Navaratne Marasinghe scheduled the next hearing of a high-profile corruption case involving former Fisheries Minister Rajitha Senaratne and two other defendants for August 29.

The case relates to allegations that the state incurred financial losses in 2014 when the Mutuwal Fisheries Harbour was leased to a private company during Senaratne’s tenure as Minister.

At today’s (3) hearing, the legal representative for the Bribery Commission informed the court that the indictment against the accused needs to be amended and requested additional time to do so.

Granting permission to revise the indictment, the judge fixed the next hearing for August 29.

The charges stem from transactions that allegedly occurred between August 1 and November 1, 2014, during which the Mutuwal Fisheries Harbour was leased under terms that reportedly caused financial harm to the government.

The accused in the case are:

Rajitha Senaratne, former Minister of Fisheries

Upali Liyanage, former Chairman of the Ceylon Fishery Harbours Corporation

Neil Ravindra Munasinghe, former Managing Director of the Corporation

The case was filed by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) under Section 70 of the Bribery Act, with five charges filed against two of the defendants.