Chirani Lakmanti Henarath Hettiarachchi, residing in Colombo 07 and wife of former Deputy Minister Sarana Gunawardena, was arrested this afternoon (25) by officers of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC).
The arrest was made in connection with offering a bribe of Rs. 750,000 to Galagedara Arachchilage Charith Kumara, who previously served as an usher (Arachchila) at the Colombo High Court. The bribe was allegedly given to induce High Court Judge Rashantha Godawela to hand down a suspended sentence in a bribery case against Sarana Gunawardena, who is currently serving a 16-year prison sentence.
The court usher, who was arrested on September 22 in relation to the incident, has been remanded until October 6. Investigations have also identified a bookbinder from the High Court and an officer from the Attanagalla Court as accomplices in the scheme.
The investigation was launched following a complaint lodged by High Court Judge Rashantha Godawela himself.
Submitting a further report to the court after producing the usher, the Bribery Commission disclosed evidence showing multiple financial deposits made into the suspect’s bank account from parties associated with Sarana Gunawardena.
The attempt to mitigate the court sentence stems from a corruption case involving Sarana Gunawardena during his tenure as Chairman of the Development Lotteries Board (DLB). He was accused of defrauding Rs. 2 million by fraudulently transferring his wife’s house in Madiwela to another name without any necessity and leasing it back to the Development Lotteries Board.
Following these revelations, the Bribery Commission arrested the former Deputy Minister’s wife over her direct involvement in providing the bribe.
