By Ruwan Weerakoon
(Lanka-e-News -08 Oct 2026,5.30 A.M.) Former Minister Rohitha Bogollagama, arrested by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC), has been remanded by the Colombo High Court until the conclusion of the trial against him.
High Court Judge Rashantha Godawela issued the order after the Bribery Commission made submissions on the matter.
Bogollagama was arrested by Bribery Commission officers on October 7 on an open warrant issued by the Colombo High Court. The warrant was issued after he repeatedly failed to appear in court in an ongoing case filed against him by the Commission over corruption allegations. He was produced before the High Court following his arrest.
The Bribery Commission filed the case in the Colombo High Court on February 25, 2020. It alleges that, as Minister of Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion, Bogollagama improperly approved or influenced payments of about Rs. 1.17 million for hotel accommodation and Rs. 414,000 in other costs, about Rs. 1.5 million in total, for a Board of Investment (BOI) investment exhibition in London. The Commission says these payments were contrary to Treasury guidelines. The case names several other defendants.
Bogollagama has been indicted, but the allegations have not been proven in court, and he is entitled to the presumption of innocence.
He served as Sri Lanka's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from late November 2023 to late 2024, under former President Ranil Wickramasinghe. He did not return to Sri Lanka after the change of government and has been living in the United Kingdom.
Born: August 6, 1954, in Nikaweratiya, Sri Lanka
Education: Ananda College, Colombo, and Sri Lanka Law College
Profession: Attorney-at-Law (enrolled in 1976)
Member of Parliament: Elected in 2000 for the Kurunegala District representing the United National Party (UNP). He later joined the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) / United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) in 2004.
Ministerial Roles
Minister of Industries (2001–2004)
Minister of Advanced Technology and National Enterprise Development (2004–2005)
Minister of Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion (2005–2007)
Minister of Foreign Affairs (2007–2010): served during the final stages of the civil war and represented the government at peace talks with the LTTE in Geneva
Other Posts
Governor of the Eastern Province: July 2017 to December 2018
High Commissioner to the United Kingdom: late November 2023 to late 2024
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by (2026-10-08 00:07:55)
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