Rs. 1. 7M Misuse? Ex-Minister, Ex-BOI Chief Indicted

COLOMBO (News 1st); The Colombo High Court today (30) served indictments against Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, former Minister of Investment Promotion, and Jayanta Edirisinghe, former Director General of the Board of Investment (BOI), over allegations of misusing public funds for political advertising.

The charges come from an incident in November 2014, when advertisements were published in 11 newspapers on the 19th of November 2014 to mark the second term anniversary of then-President Mahinda Rajapaksa, allegedly using BOI funds. The loss to the state is estimated at Rs. 1,748,887.76.

The indictments were presented before High Court Judge Pradeep Abeyratne, and both accused were released on cash bail of Rs. 1 million each.

The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption filed the case on May 16, 2025, under five counts. 

The prosecution is expected to present 15 witnesses and 21 documents as evidence.