Former education minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam was arrested by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption on Wednesday and remanded until August 18 by the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court.
He was taken into custody at about 1.45 p.m., the Daily Mirror reported, hours after he arrived at the Commission that morning to record a statement.
The allegation
CIABOC alleges that four people recruited to Kariyawasam’s official personal staff were put to work that had nothing to do with their posts. Three were assigned to a fuel station he owns, the Commission says, while the fourth drew salary and allowances without being given duties at the office allocated to the position.
The salaries and allowances paid to the four amount to Rs. 2,768,836.14, which CIABOC treats as a loss to the state and the basis of a corruption charge.
The four were attached to the Presidential Secretariat during his tenure as a senior adviser to the President — a post the Daily Mirror reported he was appointed to on July 29, 2022 by then-President Ranil Wickremesinghe. Outlets rendered the title differently: the Daily Mirror gave it as Senior Adviser to the President on Administrative Affairs, while Ada Derana described the staff as recruited to the Office of the President’s Senior Advisor (Decentralized Administration).
What this confirms
Wednesday’s arrest resolves a question left open earlier in the day, when neither newsroom covering his appearance said which investigation it concerned. It is the inquiry CIABOC opened in July into allegations that Kariyawasam, a former General Secretary of the United National Party, recruited employees to the Presidential Secretariat and deployed them for personal and political work.
He was summoned on July 21 and did not appear, the Commission said at the time, giving no reason for his absence.
The allegations have not been tested in court. Kariyawasam is due back before the magistrate on August 18.
Sources: Ada Derana, Daily Mirror, NewsFirst, Ada Derana, NewsFirst, Daily Mirror.
