Former Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam was released on bail by the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, two weeks after he was arrested and remanded by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption.
Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama ordered the release of Kariyawasam and Deepal Sanjeewa, an employee at a fuel station owned by the former minister, on two personal bail bonds of Rs. 5 million each, NewsFirst reported. The magistrate also imposed an overseas travel ban on both suspects.
Hiru News carried the same figures and the same travel ban in its Sinhala report.
The allegations
Kariyawasam was arrested over allegations that he caused a loss exceeding Rs. 2.7 million to the state by recruiting four employees on a temporary basis to the Office of the Senior Presidential Advisor and deploying them for his personal work. He held the advisory post under former President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Sanjeewa is accused of causing losses to the government after being appointed to the public service as a Management Assistant while allegedly working at the former minister’s private fuel station. He was arrested on August 12 and remanded until Tuesday pending further investigation.
The court ordered that the case be taken up again on October 20 as the investigation and legal proceedings continue.
