Corruption case against Rajitha fixed for November 10

The case filed against former Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne and two others in connection with charges of  corruption  was today  fixed for November 10 by  the Colombo High Court. When the case came up before High Court Judge Mohamed Ishadeen, the defence were given documents pertaining to the indictments. The Bribery Commission had filed indictments in the Colombo High Court against former Minister Rajitha Senaratne and two other for allegedly causing loss to the government when leasing out the Modara Fisheries harbor to a private company. He was serving as the Fisheries Minister, at that stage under Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Presidency. The Director General of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption filed indictments against former Minister Rajitha Senaratne, Ceylon Fisheries Harbour Corporation (CFHC) former Chairman Upali Liyanage and CFHC former Managing Director Neil Ravindra Munasinghe under section 70 of the Bribery Act on five charges. The Bribery Commission alleged that the former Minister had unlawfully taken a decision to lease out the Modara Fisheries harbor to Sea Gulf UK Private Ltd at a lower price between August 1, 2014 and November 1, 2014, while he was serving as the Fisheries Minister. The Bribery Commission alleged that by knowing this transaction would cause unlawful loss to the government, the former Minister had motivated the members of the CFHC director board to lease out the fisheries harbor to Sea Gulf UK Private Ltd. The indictments had been filed on five counts under section 70 of the Bribery Act and section 113 and 102 of the Penal Code.