Customs officers in alleged Rs. 125 m bribe case remanded

Saturday, 17 October 2015 00:04 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Three Customs officers arrested by the Bribery Commission on Thursday while accepting a bribe of Rs. 125 million have been remanded until 30 October by the Colombo Magistrate Courts.

This is the largest-ever recorded bribing case nabbed by the Commission to Investigate Allegation of Bribery or Corruption.

The Customs officers in question had informed a foreign company that a post audit had found that a payment of Rs. 1.5 billion was required for the release of a consignment of spare parts to be used by the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB).

Thereafter according to the Bribery Commission Director General Dilrukshi Wickremesinghe, the Customs officers have informed the local party the payment could be avoided if a bribe of Rs. 150 million was paid. The figure was later negotiated at Rs. 125 million. The local party had then alerted the Bribery Commission which stepped in and laid a trap to nab the three Customs officers.

The commission hasn’t yet revealed the name of the local party/importer though the three Customs officers have been identified as Customs Superintendent S.P. Jinadasa, Deputy Superintendent J. Gunathilake and Assistant Superintendent M.D.U.G. Perera.