A former Additional Secretary to the State Ministry of Agriculture has been arrested by the Commission to Investigate Allegations against Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) in connection with the importation of a consignment of substandard fertilizer from the Chinese company Qingdao Seawin Biotech in 2021.
Accordingly, the Bribery Commission has arrested the relevant official on charges of causing losses to the government by issuing directives to re-open the suspended Letters of Credit (LCs) to procure a stock of substandard organic fertilizer from the relevant company, which resulted in the payment of 75% of the value of the first batch of fertilizer — amounting to approximately US$6.9 million.
The arrested official, who previously served as an Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, was produced before the Colombo Magistrate’s Court today.
The Magistrate has accordingly ordered that the suspect be remanded until 5 May, according to the Ada Derana reporter.
