Minister Kumara Jayakody in court for a 2014 case

Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody appeared before the Colombo High Court today (27) in connection with a case filed by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption. This legal action is based on an alleged incident that occurred when the Minister previously served as a public official.

Accordingly, these charges have been leveled against him in connection with an issue that arose regarding a procurement activity carried out by him while he was in public service in 2014.

The Colombo High Court had issued a summons to Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody, instructing him to appear before the court on March 27 to inquire into corruption charges alleging that he caused a loss of over 8.8 million rupees to the government while serving as the Procurement Manager of Lanka Fertilizer Company.

These indictments have been filed regarding Mr. Kumara Jayakody causing a loss of over Rs. 8,800,000 (8.8 million) to the government by unduly providing financial benefits to a private company contracted for a development project at the Lanka Fertilizer Company premises, during his tenure as the Procurement Manager of Lanka Fertilizer Company.

Investigations have revealed that although the relevant private company was required to submit a bank guarantee according to procurement regulations when implementing the project, the Minister proceeded to release 20% of the project value (an amount exceeding 8.8 million rupees) as an advance without such a guarantee.

Meanwhile, at a special press conference held on the 17th, a journalist questioned President Anura Kumara Dissanayake about these allegations against the Minister. In response, the President emphasized that if the corruption charge had occurred during Mr. Kumara Jayakody's current tenure as a minister, steps would certainly be taken to remove him from that ministerial position.