Former Deputy Minister Sarana Gunawardena was sentenced to a total of 16 years of rigorous imprisonment after being found guilty in four corruption cases filed by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC).
The judgment was delivered by the Colombo High Court, where Judge Mohamed Mihail imposed four years of rigorous imprisonment for each of the four offences and ordered Gunawardena to pay a total fine of Rs. 1.8 million.
The court later clarified that the prison terms would be served consecutively rather than concurrently, resulting in a total sentence of 16 years.
Gunawardena was convicted over corruption charges linked to his tenure as Chairman of the Development Lotteries Board in 2006. Prosecutors alleged that he caused a financial loss to the state by procuring vehicles for the institution on a rental basis, an act deemed corrupt under the law.
