Sri Lanka: Former Cricketer Arjuna Ranatunga to be arrested over alleged oil scam

COLOMBO(Sri Lanka):Sri Lanka’s bribery commission informed on Monday that Former Cricketer and Minister Arjuna Ranatunga would be arrested and produced before court after he was named as a suspect in an incident in which an alleged loss of nearly Rs. 800 million was caused to the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) by implementing spot tenders at higher prices, as reported by Daily Mirror, Sri Lanka.

According to Daily Mirror, the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) informed the chief magistrate’s court on Monday that steps are being taken to arrest former Ranatunga.

This was disclosed to court by Assistant Director – Legal, Anusha Sammandapperuma appearing on behalf of the Bribery Commission, Daily Mirror said, when former Chairman of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, Dhammika Ranatunga, who was arrested on corruption allegations, was produced before court.

Assistant Director Anusha Sammanthapperuma informed the court that three long-term tenders scheduled for the procurement of fuel for the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation for the years 2017-2018 had been cancelled and that the later decision to proceed with spot tenders at higher prices allegedly caused a loss of nearly Rs. 800 million to the Corporation.

As per Daily Mirror, she stated that, based on this allegation, Dhammika Ranatunga was arrested and produced before court.

Ranatunga, who served as Chairman, has been named as the first suspect, while former Minister of Petroleum Resources Development Arjuna Ranatunga has been named as the second suspect and steps are being taken to arrest both suspects, she further informed.

On the arrest of Arjuna Ranatunga, Sammanthapperuma said he could not be arrested and produced before court on Monday as he is currently overseas.

Requesting the court’s intervention, she sought an order to remand the suspect, citing that investigations into the incident are still ongoing.

Daily Mirror further noted that President’s Counsel Saliya Pieris , who was appearing on behalf of the suspect, submitted to court that his client has been cooperating with the investigations and requested that he be released on bail under suitable conditions in terms of the Bail Act.

After considering the submissions, the Chief Magistrate ordered the release of the suspect on two surties of Rs. 1 million each and further imposed a foreign travel ban on the suspect, Daily Mirror mentioned. (ANI)