The Secretary of the Health Ministry and eight senior officials of the ministry were issued a court order banning them from leaving the country. The Maligakanda Magistrate’s Court has issued the order following a request by the Criminal Investigation Department over the incident of providing bogus Human immunoglobulin to state hospitals sources said.
The CID has informed the court that those senior officials are to be investigated in connection with fraud in the importation of substandard human antibodies (immunoglobulin) vaccines worth 130 million by forging documents.
The Criminal Investigation Department has presented the facts before the court stating that these people are involved in the fraud of importing human antibody vaccines and distributing them to public hospitals on the island and that they can avoid the court and go abroad.
Considering the said request, this prohibitory order has been imposed on 9 high officials including the Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Additional Secretary, Head of the Technical Evaluation Committee, Director of the Medical Supply Unit, and Assistant Director of the Medical Supply Unit.
The Maligakanda Court has ordered the Immigration Department to stop the travel and inform the Special Investigation Division of the Criminal Investigation Department if the persons concerned try to go abroad or return to Sri Lanka from abroad.
These investigations have been started based on the complaints received by the Criminal Investigation Department regarding human antibody vaccines purchased by using forged documents and cases have been filed in the Maligakanda Court.
Meanwhile, the court had ordered to present the suspects suspected to be involved in this incident to the court by the 18th, but they have not been presented.
Health Ministry sources also stated that Health Ministry Secretary Janaka Sri Chandragupta is to be retired from the service on November 18.
