(COLOMBO, LANKAPUVATH) –The bail application filed by former President’s Chief of Staff I.H.K. Mahanama and former State Timber Corporation (STC) Chairman P. Dissanayake who are alleged to have received a bribe worth Rs.100 million was rejected by the Colombo Chief Magistrate today.
The duo were also further remanded until July 10.
Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) said that I.H.K. Mahanama had demanded a bribe of Rs.540 million from an Indian investor who was ready to acquire a section of the Kantale sugar factory.
Mahanama had allegedly attended to this matter of settling the transaction some time back while he was the Land Ministry Secretary. However the Indian investor had refused to pay the sum stating that it was high and demanded to reduce it. Within several weeks, Mahanama had allegedly agreed to settle with Rs.100 million.
They were taken into the custody by CIABOC while allegedly accepting the bribe in a hotel in Colombo and were later produced before Colombo Chief Magistrate Lal Ranasinghe.
