President's chief of staff and chairman of Timber Corporation caught in the act of extracting bribe of 20 million!

President's chief of staff and chairman of Timber Corporation caught in the act of extracting bribe of 20 million!

President's chief of staff Dr. I. Kusumdasa Mahanama and Chairman of the State Timber Corporation, Piyadasa Dissanayaka were caught in the act by officers of the Bribery of taking a bribe of Rs. 20 million and is under police custody, it is reported.

Officers of the Commission to investigate Bribery or Corruption have informed that an advance of

Rs. 20 million had been requested from an Indian investor of MG Sugar Company in order to conduct a sugar factory in Kantalai area, at which moment they had been nabbed, the Commission informed.

On a clue received that this bribe will be taken close to the car park of Taj Samudra Hotel, Colombo around 5 in the evening, the said officers had nabbed them in the act.

It is of special note that I.A.K.S. Mahanama functions as the chief of staff of incumbent President Maithripala Sirisena, the latter of whom was dedicated to establish 'Yahapalanaya'. He had in fact functioned as the secretary of Land Ministry before and is someone who is equipped with a university degree. The chairman of State Timber Corporation who too has been taken into custody had also been at one time functioned as a secretary of former President Mrs. Chandrika Kumaratunga. Both the arrested have been seniors in Sri Lankan Administration Service.

The two of them have been produced before Colombo Magistrate Court last night and have been remanded till the 9th. The President's media division announced last night that services of both persons have been suspended on orders of the President.