Indictments against former Minister C.B. Ratnayake, who earned five crores within two years

The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption has informed the court that former Minister C.B. Ratnayake is to be indicted before the Colombo High Court in connection with the incident of accumulating illicit assets exceeding fifty million rupees within a period of two years.

Presenting facts before Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama yesterday (21), the commission stated that these prosecution activities will take place in the future in accordance with the Anti-Corruption Act No. 19 of 2023.

When the former minister, who is currently on bail, appeared in court, officials representing the Bribery Commission stated that the investigations related to the incident have now been fully completed and referred to the legal division of the said commission. As prosecution will be initiated in the High Court in the future, the commission also requested the court to provide a suitable date for reporting the progress of the investigation.

The Bribery Commission had initiated this investigation into property purchases made by incurring expenses amounting to approximately Rs. 57,347,956.98, the source of which could not be revealed, during the period from March 31, 2011, to March 31, 2013.

The suspect has been accused of activities such as purchasing land worth millions of rupees from the Ragala area, starting a joint venture named 'N.B.R. Sun', and obtaining duty-free vehicle permits. Additionally, a report detailing numerous incidents of illicit wealth accumulation, including spending money on organizing Dubai tours for his associates, receiving ten million rupees from an associate, and receiving ten million rupees from his late brother S.B. Ratnayake, has also been submitted to the court.

In connection with these investigations, which commenced based on an anonymous complaint received in March 2015, steps were taken to arrest the suspect former minister and remand him on December 02, 2025. Subsequently, on December 06, 2025, the court ordered his release on bail. Considering the further reports submitted yesterday, the Chief Magistrate ordered that the progress of the investigation in the relevant case be submitted to the court again on November 10 next year.