Former Sri Lankan Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, along with his wife Kusum Priyadarshini Epa and daughter Chandula Ramali Rambukwella, was briefly remanded last week after failing to fulfil bail conditions in connection with a high-profile money laundering and pharmaceutical procurement scandal that has rocked the island’s healthcare sector.
The trio was arrested by officers from the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC), following allegations that they had illegally amassed assets totalling over Rs. 97 million. They were produced before the Colombo Magistrate’s Court initially remanded after failing to meet the bail terms, before eventually being released on bail.
CIABOC also arrested the former minister in connection with a massive procurement fraud, where substandard and contaminated drugs were imported and administered to patients in government hospitals. A WHO-accredited German laboratory confirmed that samples of Human Immunoglobulin contained no effective medication and were instead made up of saline contaminated with Enterobacter hormaechei, a dangerous bacteria. Tests on rituximab, a cancer drug, similarly showed no active pharmaceutical ingredient - only saltwater.
In proceedings before the Maligakanda Magistrate’s Court, Deputy Solicitor General (DSG) Lakmini Girihagama informed the court that the medications were imported under suspicious procurement procedures spearheaded by Rambukwella, without proper approval from the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA). The drugs were supplied by Ayushulem Biotech Pharma, an obscure Indian company with no verifiable credentials in pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Phone records presented to court revealed numerous calls between Rambukwella and the owner of Ayushulem Biotech, as well as with senior Health Ministry officials, during the procurement period. The Attorney General’s Department told court that the immunoglobulin vials were part of a Rs. 960 million deal approved under Rambukwella’s directive, with Rs. 144 million already disbursed before the scheme unravelled.
The court was informed that investigators are also probing bank accounts and insurance policies tied to the minister's immediate family. Two fixed deposits worth Rs. 30 million each, and bank accounts containing Rs. 15 million in the names of the suspects, were discovered. Properties owned by Rambukwella’s other daughter and a vehicle registered to her husband were seized.
Defence counsel Kanchana Ratwatte argued that the funds were legally obtained through gem sales at National Gem and Jewellery Authority auctions. He claimed that the former Minister operated a licenced gem mine and had sold gems at auctions, earning Rs. 610 million and paying Rs. 125 million in taxes.
The Colombo Chief Magistrate, Tanuja Lakmali Jayasinghe, also ordered the release on bail of Nipuni Krishnajina, a friend of Rambukwella's daughter Chamithri who was in remand custody over two corruption-related cases filed by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC). She faces further scrutiny over a bank account allegedly used for fraudulent transactions.
Meanwhile, international condemnation continues to grow. German regulatory authorities have launched their own investigation, and the World Health Organization’s regional office is reportedly demanding a full dossier on the matter.
Rambukwella is also known for his stance on Sri Lanka’s discriminatory forced cremation policy during COVID-19. At the time he was the Minister of Health and refused to issue an apology for the government’s discriminatory policy which was internationally condemned. This policy was widely rebuked by the international community and health experts who maintained that this was a violation of Muslim and Christian burial rights.
Before this, Keheliya has hit out at Tamils, dismissing the Sencholai massacre where 53 school girls and 3 teachers from the orphanage were killed in a targeted attack by Sri Lanka Air Force. “We have studied this for three years and know what was going on," claimed then-Sri Lankan government spokesperson Keheliya Rambukwella.
"If the children are terrorists, what can we do? The fact is that gender or the age limit is of no concern when it comes to training and when it comes to soldiers because they are carrying arms in order to kill the enemy."
Despite the magnitude of the scandal, Sri Lankan president Anura Kumara Dissanayake has yet to issue a public statement.
The case is scheduled to be heard again on 24 August.