Keheliya and 11 others indicted over substandard drug imports
June 26, 2025 12:06 pm
The Attorney General today served indictments before the Colombo High Court Special Trial-at-Bar on former Minister Keheliya Rambukwella and 11 others over the alleged import of substandard Human Immunoglobulin vials.
The indictment consists of a total of 13 charges.
In 2022, amidst the country’s economic crisis, a number of high-ranking health officials were allegedly involved in the purchase of medicine stocks by changing existing procurement procedures and creating a false shortage of drugs in the country.
In such a context, three patients in Kandy, Matale, and Colombo who had used human immunoglobulin vaccines, one of the types of medicines purchased from the above mentioned medicine stocks, had developed complications, raising concerns about the quality of the medicine.
Accordingly, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) launched an investigation based on two complaints received regarding this matter.
Subsequently, a case was filed before the Maligakanda Magistrate Court, naming 12 individuals as suspects.
These include the owner of the company that supplied the substandard drugs, Sudath Janaka Fernando, former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, former Secretary to the Ministry of Health Janaka Chandragupta, and a group of other high-ranking officials in the health sector.
Although 10 suspects in the case were arrested and produced before the court, they were remanded and later released on bail.
However, the first suspect, the supplier of the substandard human immunoglobulin vaccines, is still in remand custody.
In this context, on June 19, Deputy Solicitor General Lakmini Girihagama, who last reported the progress of the investigations to the court, stated that the Criminal Investigation Department’s probe into the substandard Human Immunoglobulin vials case, which lasted one year, eight months, and six days, has now been concluded.
Accordingly, the Attorney General served indictments today before the Colombo High Court Special Trial-at-Bar on former Minister Keheliya Rambukwella and 11 others accused in the case.
The indictment was served before a three-judge bench of the Colombo High Court comprising Justices Mahen Weeraman, Amali Ranaweera, and Pradeep Abeyratne.
