Additional Secretary to Ministry of Justice arrested by Bribery Commission

An Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Justice, Sepalika Samankumari who earlier served as the Acting Director General of the Office for Reparations, has been arrested by the Bribery Commission on charges of corruption and criminal misappropriation of funds.

She was arrested over a complaint lodged by the Officer of Reparations in relation to compensation payments made to former State Minister Shasheendra Rajapaksa who is currently in remand custody.

The officer is due to be produced in the Colombo Chief Magistrate Courts.

The officer was arrested over granting of a compensation payment of Rs 8.8 million for a property owned by the Sri Lanka Mahaweli Authority which was collected by the former state minister. The compensation was in relation to a property damaged during the Aragalaya protests in 2022.

The Board of Directors had initially rejected the application for the compensation payment, but the officer concerned had allegedly intervened and written a letter to the Mahaweli Authority and obtained approval for the payment.