Rajitha Senaratne, two others to face court on August 29, 2025

The Colombo High Court has rescheduled the next hearing of a high-profile corruption case involving former Minister of Fisheries Rajitha Senaratne and two other former officials to August 29, 2025.

The decision was made today (June 3) by High Court Judge Navaratne Marasinghe during a court session on the matter.

The case, filed by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC), centers on allegations that the government incurred financial losses in 2014 when the Modara Fisheries Harbour was leased to a private company named Sea Gulf UK during Senaratne’s tenure as Minister.

The transactions in question reportedly took place between August 1 and November 1, 2014.

During today’s hearing, CIABOC’s legal representative informed the court that the indictment against the accused requires amendments and requested additional time to revise the charges.

Granting the request, Judge Marasinghe allowed the amendment of the charge sheet and ordered that the case be recalled on August 29, 2025.

The accused in the case are:

• Rajitha Senaratne – Former Minister of Fisheries
• Upali Liyanage – Former Chairman of the Ceylon Fishery Harbours Corporation
• Neil Ravindra Munasinghe – Former Managing Director of the Ceylon Fishery Harbours Corporation

CIABOC filed the case under Section 70 of the Bribery Act, citing five charges against two of the defendants and alleging that the leasing agreement with the private firm caused significant financial harm to the state.