Former Minister Piyankara Jayaratne jailed for 7 years over corruption case

Wednesday, 2 September 2026 00:21 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Former Minister

Piyankara Jayaratne

Former Civil Aviation Minister Piyankara Jayaratne was yesterday sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment after being found guilty of a corruption charge involving a Rs.330,000 payment by State-owned SriLankan Catering Ltd., for food supplied to political supporters attending a United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) May Day rally in 2014.

Colombo High Court Judge Mohamed Mihal imposed the sentence following a lengthy trial on an indictment filed by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC).

The case centred on the payment of Rs.330,000 from SriLankan Catering accounts to a private catering company in Marawila for food provided to political supporters who participated in the UPFA May Day rally.

According to the indictment, Jayaratne, who was Civil Aviation Minister at the time, had induced a SriLankan Catering executive to make the payment for the catering arrangements.

CIABOC had filed the indictment against the former Minister before the Colombo High Court over the transaction.