The Permanent High Court-at-Bar has announced the prison sentences for Former Presidential Chief of Staff I.H.K. Mahanama and the former Chairman of the State Timber Corporation (STC) Piyadasa Dissanayake, who were found guilty on bribery charges this morning.

The first defendant in the case Mr. Mahanama has been sentenced to 20 year rigorous imprisonment by the court and ordered to pay a fine of Rs 65,000.

The second defendant Mr. Dissanayake was sentenced to 12 years rigorous imprisonment by the Trial-at-Bar and ordered to pay a fine of Rs 55,000.

In addition to this the sum of Rs 20 million solicited as a bribe by the first defendant is to be paid as a penalty.

Mahanama and Dissanayake were arrested by the Bribery Commission in May 2018 for soliciting a bribe of Rs. 20 million from an Indian businessman in order to transfer the machinery equipment belonging to the Kantale Sugar Factory.

According to reports, the total amount of the bribe they had demanded from the said businessman was said to be Rs. 54 million.

Following a lengthy trial, the Trial-at-Bar had concluded the hearings of the case on December 04 and fixed December 19 to deliver the verdict.

The Bribery Commission had laid 24 charges against the two defendants and 46 persons were named as witnesses of the case.