The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) has arrested Muthubandage Kamal Bandara Dissanayake, former Secretary to the Ministry of Buddhasasana, on corruption charges. Investigating officers from the anti-graft commission executed the arrest at approximately 10:30 AM today (September 25, 2026).
The former ministry secretary is accused of bypassing established government procurement procedures on three separate occasions to award book printing contracts to a favored entity. The contracts involved printing copies of a book titled “Dahami Niwahanai Apekama Radhi Heta Dinayai” on behalf of the Ministry of Buddhasasana, with the total expenditure amounting to Rs. 4,790,000.
According to CIABOC, payments totaling the full contract value were authorized and issued without ensuring that the printed books were delivered to or accounted for in the ministry's warehouse. By doing so, the former official allegedly caused a significant financial loss to the state while conferring an unlawful advantage upon the entity affiliated with him.
Following his arrest, the suspect is scheduled to be produced before the Colombo Chief Magistrate's Court for further legal proceedings.
