By Roy Denish
Former Gotabaya Rajapaksa private secretary Sugeeshwara Bandara has been arrested over an alleged phantom payroll scandal involving two simultaneous state salaries. Investigators are now probing whether a second government post was used as a ghost role to divert public funds during the former administration.
Police have arrested the former private secretary to ousted President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on allegations of financial misappropriation involving a dual-salary scheme.
Detectives from the Colombo Central Crimes Investigations Bureau detained Sugeeshwara Bandara, who currently leads the New People’s Front political party, following a detailed probe into the misuse of public funds.
Investigators allege Bandara illegally drew two state incomes simultaneously during his tenure at the Presidential Secretariat. While receiving his formal salary as Rajapaksa’s private secretary, Bandara allegedly held a concurrent appointment as a project director at a separate state institution, collecting a second full government salary.
Under Sri Lankan public financial regulations, drawing parallel, full-time state emoluments constitutes a direct misappropriation of public funds.
Authorities are investigating whether the project director position was a “ghost” role, a non-performing post utilized solely to channel public money into Bandara’s personal accounts without the execution of institutional duties or oversight.
Detectives are currently cross-referencing central bank transaction records and Presidential Secretariat payroll registries to establish the exact volume of state funds diverted.
Rajapaksa, who appointed Bandara, resigned and temporarily fled the island nation in 2022 amid massive public protests over Sri Lanka’s unprecedented economic collapse. Bandara’s arrest marks a continuation of state scrutiny into administrative overreach and financial irregularities that occurred during Rajapaksa’s administration.
It was not immediately clear if Bandara had retained legal counsel who could comment on the allegations. Authorities are expected to present him before a magistrate as the investigation proceeds.
