Corruption Case Against Lakshman Yapa to Proceed

COLOMBO (News 1st); The Colombo High Court today (10) rejected a preliminary objection filed by the defense in the corruption case against former Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena and former Director General of the Board of Investment (BOI) Jayanta Edirisinghe.

The objection sought to dismiss the case filed by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption, but was overruled by High Court Judge Mohamed Mihal, who ordered the case to proceed.

The next hearing has been scheduled for December 16, during which a pre-trial conference will be held.

The case relates to allegations that, on November 19, 2014, BOI funds were misused to publish supplementary advertisements in 11 newspapers in support of Mahinda Rajapaksa’s second presidential term, causing a financial loss of over Rs. 1.7 million to the government.

The Bribery Commission alleges that this act constitutes a violation under the Corruption Act.

The prosecution is expected to present 15 witnesses and 21 documents as evidence in the trial.