The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption has reportedly informed the Colombo Chief Magistrate that it has initiated an investigation into five brokerage firms that were allegedly threatened by former minister Prasanna Ranatunga.
Former minister Prasanna Ranatunga, who is facing charges of misappropriating public funds and causing a loss to the government, was produced before Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama last week and was released on a cash bail of Rs. 100,000 and two sureties of Rs. 500,000 each.
Former Minister Ranatunga has been charged with causing a financial loss of Rs. 4,750,828.72 to the Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation by illegally appointing a private brokerage firm to provide direct medical insurance cover to employees of four institutions under the Ministry of Tourism.
The commission informed the court that the money received by the brokerage firm was reportedly deposited in five accounts and investigations have been initiated to verify the identity of the account holders.
Chief Inspector of Police Gamini Abeysinghe, on behalf of the Bribery Commission, informed the court that the services of a brokerage firm had been obtained in the process without following the procurement process.
Former Minister Prasanna Ranatunga’s lawyer Anil Silva told the court that these funds were used to bring back Sri Lankans stranded in Kuwait during the Covid 19 pandemic and that the former minister had not used the funds for personal purposes.