Two people, including the former secretary of the Ministry of Trade, arrested for Mahapola lottery fraud.

The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption has arrested three high-ranking officials, including a former Secretary to the Ministry of Trade. This arrest was made on February 24 on charges of financial irregularities and corruption allegedly committed during the procurement process for launching an online lottery to strengthen the Mahapola Higher Education Scholarship Trust Fund.

The three arrested are A.M. Priyanka Madduma Bandara Athapaththu, a former Secretary to the Ministry of Trade, Doresamy Sivanandan, a former Additional Secretary (Administration), and Kaludewa Aravinda Priyadarshani de Silva, who served as the Chief Financial Officer. They have been arrested by the investigating officers of the Bribery Commission.

The Bribery Commission has revealed that in selecting a supplier for the said online lottery, the tender was not awarded to the initially successfully selected investor, causing a loss to the government and the relevant institution. Furthermore, these suspects are also facing a serious charge of soliciting and accepting a bribe of one million rupees (Rs. 1,000,000/-) from a company affiliated with an entity that failed and was rejected in the first call for bids, with the intention of re-calling bids.

The media unit of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption further stated in its release that these three arrested suspects are scheduled to be produced before the Colombo Chief Magistrate's Court.