Courtesy Hiru News

Senior Superintendent of Police Sathish Ranjan Hiyare Gamage, the acting Director of the Cultural Division (Administration) at the Police Field Force Headquarters, was remanded until August 19. The order was given today (14), by Colombo Additional Magistrate Pavithra Sanjeewanee Pathirana.

Gamage was arrested by the Bribery Commission in connection with a money laundering case. He is accused of accepting bribes of over Rs. 14 million from individuals, including organised criminals. The arrested Senior Superintendent of Police was taken into custody by the Bribery Commission this morning.

The Bribery Commission has accused the suspect of opening three bank accounts in another person’s name during his time as Senior Superintendent of Police for the Galle and Embilipitiya Police Divisions. The commission alleges he had over Rs. 14 million deposited into these accounts from organised criminals and other individuals who sought police services.

Assistant Legal Director, Attorney-at-Law, Thusitha Jayaneththi, appeared in court on behalf of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption. The commission informed the court that it had received information showing the senior police officer accepted money from individuals who came to the police for services, as well as from organised criminals and other offenders. The Bribery Commission also informed the court that it was revealed the suspect had allegedly received money from illegal massage parlours and deposited it into the three bank accounts.

Continuing to present facts before the court, the Assistant Director of the Bribery Commission stated that the Criminal Investigation Department had recorded a statement from a powerful drug trafficker named Dulaj Tharanga. His WhatsApp account had received three messages, one of which contained the bank account details of a person named Anura Nanayakkara. The CID summoned and questioned Nanayakkara, who stated that the bank accounts did not belong to him but to the suspect in the dock. This is how the fraud was uncovered. An investigation was carried out, and based on the information, the suspect was arrested at his place of work”

The Assistant Director of the Bribery Commission revealed that the three bank accounts in question, which belong to the suspect and are under the name of Anura Nanayakkara, are held at three separate private banks. It was disclosed that money from individuals seeking services from the suspect, organised criminals, illegal massage parlours, and other offenders had been deposited into these accounts on numerous occasions. The Assistant Director also informed the court that a total of Rs. 14 million was credited to these three accounts in a short period of just eight months.

She added that the suspect’s wife was questioned and revealed the truth about the incident. It was also revealed that the suspect’s security officer had deposited money into the three questionable bank accounts on over a hundred occasions, and his driver had deposited over Rs. 1.4 million on fifty different occasions. Additionally, a powerful drug trafficker living abroad deposited money into the suspect’s personal account on three occasions. Money was also deposited into these accounts by another powerful drug trafficker named AmilaParanawithana. The commission stated that several other bank accounts related to the case needed to be investigated.

The Assistant Director of the Bribery Commission told the court that Anura Nanayakkara provided a sworn statement on the 5th of August, 2025, claiming he had been intimidated by the suspect. This is why he was reluctant to tell the truth when first questioned by the Criminal Investigation Department. The Assistant Director argued that the suspect should be remanded under the Bail Act and Section 122 of the Anti-Corruption Act, citing that the act constitutes a clear case of corruption. The Assistant Director requested that the suspect be remanded until the conclusion of the case, as permitted by a certificate from the Director-General of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption.

Meanwhile, the legal counsel who appeared for the suspect had this to say.

As per the Bribery Commission’s investigating officers claim Anura Nanayakkara gave his sworn statement on the 5th of August, 2025, but the investigation began in 2024. The Supreme Court has ruled that bail should be granted in bailable offences. The Bribery Commission and the CID can take sworn statements at any time, but a suspect cannot be remanded based solely on such a statement. As such, release my client on suitable bail conditions”

After considering the arguments, the Magistrate rejected the suspect’s bail request, stating that regardless of his rank, the investigation into the incident was not yet complete. The court also noted that there were revelations of potential intimidation of witnesses by the suspect and therefore ordered that he be remanded until the August 19.