President orders to interdict his Chief of Staff and STC chairman

Maithripala Sirisena in a trouble

President Maithripala Sirisena has ordered to interdict his Chief of Staff Dr I.H.K. Mahanama and the Chairman of the State Timber Corporation P. Dissanayake, who were arrested by the Bribery Commission, with immediate effect.

A statement issued by the President’s Media Division (PMD) said that the President has also instructed relevant authorities to take strict legal action against them.

The Bribery Commission arrested the President’s Chief of Staff and the Chairman of the State Timber Corporation (STC) while accepting a bribe of Rs 20 million.

According to reports, they were taken into custody by officers of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption while soliciting the bribe at a prominent luxury hotel in Colombo.

They had allegedly requested a bribe of Rs 100 million from an individual with regards to a deal on the shares of a company and had accepted part of it, Rs 20 million, as an initial payment.

Dr I.H.K. Mahanama is the former Secretary to the Ministry of Lands who was recently appointed to the influential position of the President’s Chief of Staff.

(Source: Ada Derana)