A key witness connected to the controversial Keheliya Rambukwella bribery investigation has been found dead in Ratnapura, raising troubling questions about the emotional toll of the high profile corruption probe and the growing pressure surrounding one of Sri Lanka’s most closely watched financial crime cases.
A dramatic development has emerged in the ongoing bribery and corruption investigation involving former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella. A close relative of the former minister, identified as a cousin and a key witness connected to the alleged financial misconduct case, has reportedly died after hanging himself at his residence in the Hidellana area of Ratnapura.
According to initial reports, the man had been linked to the high profile bribery investigation into the alleged laundering of approximately Rs. 748 million believed to have been illegally obtained. Investigators from the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption had previously taken him into custody earlier this year as part of the wider corruption probe.
Authorities had arrested him on February 3 and produced him before court in connection with the money laundering and aiding and abetting charges tied to the Keheliya Rambukwella corruption case. Following court proceedings, he had been remanded for seven days before eventually being granted bail on February 10.
Friends and associates now say that the man had been experiencing deep emotional distress since his arrest and the intense legal scrutiny surrounding the investigation. Those close to him described him as a generally law abiding individual who had struggled to cope with the public attention and legal complications linked to the case.
Sources in Ratnapura say the incident occurred in the early hours of March 4. The man was reportedly found hanging from a tree located behind his residence in Hidellana.
