Former Sri Lankan ministers sentenced to decades in landmark graft case

COLOMBO: In a landmark corruption verdict, a Sri Lankan court on Thursday handed down lengthy prison sentences to two former ministers from the ousted Gotabaya Rajapaksa administration for embezzling state funds.

Former sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage and ex-trade minister Anil Fernando were convicted by the Colombo High Court of misappropriating 53 million rupees (approximately $177,000).

The court also imposed a $2,000 fine on each of the two men, who had used government funds to distribute thousands of board games — including 14,000 carrom boards and 11,000 draughts sets — in a bid to bolster the unsuccessful 2015 re-election campaign of Gotabaya’s elder brother, Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Aluthgamage was sentenced to 20 years in jail. Fernando was sentenced to 25 years.

Aluthgamage is now the most senior member of a Rajapaksa-led cabinet to be successfully prosecuted for corruption.

The cases against both men were initiated six years ago, when the Rajapaksa brothers were out of power, but the case had been making slow headway until a new government took office last year.

Aluthgamage also faces a separate investigation into allegations that he authorised in 2022 a payment of $6.09 million to a Chinese supplier for a fertiliser shipment that was never delivered.

He caused a stir in 2020 when he accused Sri Lanka´s national cricket team of rigging the 2011 World Cup final in favour of India, triggering an investigation that ultimately failed to substantiate his claims.

Aluthgamage, who served as sports minister from 2010 to 2015, said in June 2020 that he had "not wanted to disclose" the alleged match-fixing plot at the time.

"In 2011, we were supposed to win, but we sold the match. I feel I can talk about it now. I am not implicating players, but certain sections were involved," he said.

Sri Lanka lost the final at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium by six wickets. Both Indian and Sri Lankan players have strongly denied any wrongdoing.