Former Finance Minister and current Member of Parliament Ravi Karunanayake was granted bail today (31) after being arrested by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) over alleged corruption involving the National Lotteries Board.

Colombo Additional Magistrate Liyan Warusavithana ordered MP Karunanayake to be released on two surety bails of Rs. 1 million each and imposed a travel ban.

Allegations Against Ravi Karunanayake

CIABOC had been investigating allegations that three individuals recruited to the National Lotteries Board during Ravi Karunanayake’s tenure as Finance Minister were not assigned duties at the institution but were instead attached to his personal staff.

According to CIABOC, the three individuals—two coordinating officers and a management assistant—were recruited on the basis that they would work on a special project of the Ministry of Finance, while their salaries were paid from National Lotteries Board funds.

The Commission alleged that the individuals did not perform duties for the National Lotteries Board and were instead attached to Karunanayake’s personal staff and allegedly involved in political activities.

CIABOC informed court that the alleged actions had caused a financial loss of more than Rs. 3.7 million to the government.
The investigating officer told court that Ravi Karunanayake was arrested on allegations of conspiring to commit and aiding and abetting the alleged corruption offence.

CIABOC Says Karunanayake Failed to Appear

The Commission informed court that MP Ravi Karunanayake had been summoned on several occasions to provide a statement in connection with the investigation but had failed to appear.

CIABOC officials had also visited his residence in Battaramulla on August 29 to locate him, but he was not at home at the time.

The Commission requested that Karunanayake be remanded, claiming that he had failed to cooperate with the investigation and could potentially interfere with witnesses and the ongoing inquiry.

Defence Requests Bail

Appearing for Karunanayake, Attorney-at-Law Ashoka Weerasuriya told court that his client had legitimate reasons for not appearing before CIABOC on the dates requested.

He said Karunanayake had been attending a meeting of the Committee on Public Finance on one occasion and had subsequently informed CIABOC in writing that he would be unavailable due to his daughter’s wedding.

The defence also highlighted Karunanayake’s medical condition and submitted medical records from Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore in support of the bail application.

After considering submissions from both sides, the Colombo Additional Magistrate ordered Karunanayake’s release on bail, subject to two surety bails of Rs. 1 million each.

A travel ban was also imposed.

The case is scheduled to be taken up again on November 3.