Former Agriculture Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage was remanded until May 26 after appearing before the Colombo Magistrate’s Court this morning. His appearance followed the issuance of an arrest warrant.
The Colombo Chief Magistrate issued the warrant upon a request from the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC), after Aluthgamage failed to comply with a summons to appear before the Commission on May 14. He had been summoned in connection with an investigation into the alleged misuse of USD 6.7 million in government funds to pay for substandard Chinese organic fertilizer shipments during the tenure of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
On the same day, his legal team filed a motion seeking anticipatory bail and requested that the matter be heard on May 16. However, the Magistrate scheduled the hearing for May 19 instead.
