The Colombo High Court has ordered the release on bail of former Investment Promotion Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena after serving him with indictments in an alleged bribery case.
The indictments were filed by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC).
What the commission alleges
According to CIABOC, the former minister accepted a bribe of Rs. 1 million from a businessman, the Daily Mirror reported. The commission alleges the money was paid to facilitate a matter connected to the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI), the state agency that approves and administers foreign and local investment projects.
Abeywardena held the investment promotion portfolio under the government of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
None of the three newsrooms reporting the order — Ada Derana, the Daily Mirror and Hiru News — carried the bail conditions, the surety amount, the name of the presiding judge or the next trial date. LankaNewz has not independently verified the terms of the release.
Context
The case is one of a series of long-running corruption prosecutions moving through the Colombo High Court. In May, Cabinet Spokesman Nalinda Jayatissa named Abeywardena among more than a dozen politicians whose corruption cases he said were advancing toward verdicts, alongside Wimal Weerawansa, Rajitha Senaratne, Keheliya Rambukwella and Namal Rajapaksa.
Serving an indictment is the step at which a High Court formally puts charges to an accused. Bail at that stage is routine in Sri Lankan corruption cases and is not a ruling on the merits of the allegations.
Sources: Ada Derana, Daily Mirror, Hiru News.
