Ex-Minister Jayakody’s corruption case postponed to 5 Oct.

Tuesday, 8 September 2026 05:31 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Former Power and Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody+

The Colombo High Court yesterday ordered that further examination of evidence in the corruption case against former Power and Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody be taken up on 5 October.

The Bribery Commission alleges Jayakody, while serving as Procurement Manager at the Lanka Fertiliser Company in 2014, caused a loss of over Rs. 8.8 million to the Government by conducting the procurement process for carpeting the company’s Hunupitiya warehouse complex in a manner that gave undue benefit to a private company.

Testifying under the direction of Bribery Commission Assistant Director General Asitha Anthony, former Lanka Fertiliser Company Chairman Buddhika Ruwan Madihahewa said D.S. Construction was selected for the work and paid more than Rs. 8.8 million as an advance under a performance bond. He said he approved the payment after reviewing documents from the Procurement and Finance Divisions confirming procedures had been followed.

Madihahewa admitted the carpeting work was never carried out, and that raw materials, including stones brought for the project, remained on company premises. He said only Rs. 2,214,921 was later recovered under the performance bond.

A legal officer from the National Audit Office also gave evidence during the hearing.