Colombo Magistrate’s Court granted bail on Friday to MP Chamara Sampath Dassanayake and his former secretary in four bribery cases, but ordered both to remain in remand custody until 6 November in a fifth case.
Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama issued the orders after hearing submissions from the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) and the suspects’ attorneys.
Each suspect was released on two surety bonds of Rs. 1 million, applicable separately to each of the four cases. The court also imposed overseas travel bans on both. The four cases will be taken up again on 26 January.
Three of the cases relate to allegations that Dassanayake accepted bribes from gem businessmen, so that they could continue their businesses without interference during his time as State Minister of Primary Industries. According to the Bribery Commission, the first alleges that he demanded Rs. 1.2 million from one gem owner and obtained Rs. 500,000. The second alleges that he demanded and accepted Rs. 1 million from another gem owner. The third alleges a bribe of Rs. 200,000 from a further gem owner.
The Commission told the court that Liyanarachchige Sumathipala Liyanarachchi had been named as the second suspect in the proceedings.
In the fifth case, the two are accused of accepting bribes totalling Rs. 8.1 million from three private companies in connection with issuing licences required for phosphate exports, and of aiding and abetting the alleged offence. The Magistrate rejected their bail applications in that case and ordered them to remain in remand until 6 November.
Background
The Bribery Commission is the state body that investigates allegations of bribery or corruption and files cases against suspects in court. Suspects are produced before a magistrate, who decides whether they are released on bail or held in remand custody while the case proceeds.
The cases concern Dassanayake’s period as State Minister of Primary Industries, the portfolio that covers sectors such as gems and minerals. The allegations are those of the Bribery Commission and have not been proved in court.
A surety bond is a written undertaking given to the court. It sets out the amount a suspect or the person standing surety may have to forfeit if bail conditions are broken. A travel ban means the suspect cannot leave the country while the case continues.
What it means
The orders mean Dassanayake and his former secretary remain in custody in the phosphate licence case until at least 6 November, when the matter returns to court. They are not free to leave Sri Lanka in the four cases in which bail was granted.
For the public, the cases show how licensing and permit decisions in the gem and mineral export trades can come before the courts. Anyone accused of an offence is presumed innocent until a court finds otherwise, and the outcome of each case depends on the evidence presented at trial.
