Former Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam was arrested by the Bribery Commission on Wednesday over allegations that he misused state-funded employees for personal purposes.
Kariyawasam appeared before the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) for questioning earlier on Wednesday, after which he was taken into custody.
He was subsequently produced before the Colombo Chief Magistrate's Court and remanded until August 18.
Context
Kariyawasam was a Member of Parliament representing the United National Party between 2004 and 2020, during which time he served as Minister of Education across two separate terms.
However, CIABOC’s allegations stem from his tenure as Senior Adviser on Administrative Affairs to then-President Ranil Wickremesinghe in 2022.
In a statement detailing the grounds for arrest, CIABOC alleged that Kariyawasam recruited four individuals as personal staff members attached to the Presidential Secretariat during that period.
According to investigators, three of these individuals were deployed to work at a private fuel station owned by Kariyawasam, while the fourth employee was assigned no official duties despite receiving state salaries and allowances.
CIABOC stated that paying salaries and allowances to these employees resulted in a financial loss of Rs. 2,768,836.14 to the state, constituting an act of corruption under the Bribery Act.
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