Former Fisheries Corp. chairman and 3 others arrested

Former Chairman of the Ceylon Fisheries Corporation, Lalith Daulagala and three other officials have been arrested by officers of the Bribery Commission.

The suspects have been arrested in connection with the alleged incident of purchasing a vacuum packaging machine with a high capacity, capable of vacuum packaging 2,000 kg of fish per hour, for the Ceylon Fisheries Corporation in 2020, outside the procurement process and when there was no need for such a vacuum packaging machine.

Accordingly, they have been arrested on charges of corruption for causing a loss of Rs. 5,856,116 to the government through this purchase.

A former chairman of the corporation, Lalith Daulagala, a managing director, Chandana Krishantha, a supply manager, Vijith Pushpakumara, and an operations manager, Anura Chandrasena Bandara, were arrested in connection with the incident by the Bribery Commission this afternoon (04).

The Bribery Commission also said that the aforementioned supply manager was arrested on charges of demanding a bribe and accepting a bribe of Rs. 100,000, credited to his personal account, in exchange for releasing a portion of the Rs. 928,058.20 that should have been paid to the supplier company for the said purchases, while serving as the supply manager.

The arrested suspects were later produced before the Colombo Chief Magistrates Court, which ordered the suspects to be released on bail.

Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama, who ordered the suspects to be released on two surety bonds of Rs. 1.5 million each, and also ordered that the suspects’ passports be surrendered to the court.