Former Foreign Service Chairman Mohamed Hilmi Remanded Over Tenders Awarded to Friends

 Former Chairman of the Foreign Employment Bureau, Mr. Mohamed Hilmi, has been remanded until December 9th on charges of influencing the selection of an institution for a training program intended for the Bureau's officials, deviating from the approved tender procedure.

This order was issued yesterday (25) by Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga Bodaragama, after Mr. Hilmi was arrested by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption and produced before the court.

Mr. Mohamed Hilmi had been summoned to the Bribery Commission to record a statement regarding the incident, and after his statement was recorded, he was arrested by Commission officials. Investigations have revealed that in January 2024, an institution was to be selected to provide training on external activities to Bureau officials. Despite having a proper procurement division for this purpose, the suspect allegedly pressured the Deputy General Manager to select a company named 'JSF Holding' through the Human Resources division.

The Bribery Commission reported to the court that the suspect had pressured committee officials to accept the bid again, even though the bid acceptance committee had rejected it because the company had submitted its bid after the tender submission deadline had passed. Officials informed the court that since there was no evidence that the suspect had personally received a bribe through this incident, charges have been filed against him under the Public Property Act for aiding and abetting the commission of an offense.

The Bribery Commission objected to granting bail, stating that investigations are ongoing and releasing the suspect on bail could impede the investigations. President's Counsel Nalinda Indatissa, appearing for the suspect, argued that his client had fully cooperated with the investigations and had not received any financial gain from the incident. He also requested bail under any conditions, stating that the suspect has been ill since 2019.

After considering the arguments from both parties, the Chief Magistrate ruled that since the matter has been reported under the Public Property Act, the defense had not adequately presented the 'exceptional circumstances' required by the Act for granting bail to the suspect. Accordingly, the Magistrate ordered the suspect to be remanded and directed the Bribery Commission to report the progress of the investigations to the court on December 9th.