Sampath Remanded Again Over Rs. 8.4 Mn Bribery Allegation

COLOMBO (News 1st); The Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court ordered that MP Chamara Sampath be further remanded until November 20.

The order relates to allegations that he solicited and accepted Rs. 8.4 million in bribes from three phosphate-importing companies.

The case was taken up today before Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama.

Sumathipala Liyanarachchi, the former secretary of suspect Chamara Sampath, was also further remanded until November 20 in connection with the same case.

Counsel appearing for suspect MP Chamara Sampath Dissanayake submitted a written bail application on his behalf, and the Chief Magistrate directed the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) to present its objections on November 17.

The Chief Magistrate also delivered his ruling today (10) on the bail application previously filed on behalf of the suspect MP’s former secretary and rejected the request for bail.

Subsequently, President’s Counsel Kalinga Indatissa, appearing for MP Chamara Sampath Dissanayake, requested the court to issue an order for his client to be produced in Parliament on November 12, when the national budget is scheduled to be presented.

At that point, the Magistrate stated that prison authorities had informed the court that the suspect was not produced before court today due to an outbreak of a contagious illness within the prison.

The Chief Magistrate further noted that sufficient time remained before the requested date and that the court would consider the matter and issue an appropriate order at a later stage.

Legal action has been instituted against MP Chamara Sampath Dissanayake and his former secretary over allegations that, while serving as State Minister of Primary Industries from September 8, 2022, to September 23, 2024, he accepted Rs. 8.4 million in bribes in exchange for granting phosphate import licences to three companies outside the proper regulatory process.