In the ongoing case against former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella regarding the procurement of substandard immunoglobulin vials, nearly 350 individuals have been listed as witnesses, including former President Ranil Wickremesinghe and several former Cabinet ministers.
Among the key witnesses named are former Ministers Nimal Siripala de Silva, Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, Douglas Devananda, and Roshan Ranasinghe. Additionally, Dr Ananda Wijewickrama, Chairperson of the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA), along with a group of other doctors, has also been named as witnesses.
The Attorney General has submitted approximately 300 documents of evidence related to the case.
Indictments were filed before a Special Trial-at-Bar at the Colombo High Court against Keheliya Rambukwella and 11 others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, in connection with the procurement of non-standard immunoglobulin.
Recognising the case as one of public importance, the Attorney General had earlier requested the Chief Justice to appoint a Special Trial-at-Bar to hear the matter. Accordingly, a bench comprising High Court Judges Mahesh Weeraman, Pradeep Abeyratne, and Amali Ranaweera has been appointed to hear the case.
The indictments, which include 13 charges, allege that Rambukwella and the other accused conspired to misappropriate Rs. 144.4 million in public funds by supplying 6,195 vials of non-medicinal substances labelled as ‘Human Immunoglobulin’ and ‘Rituximab’ to the Medical Supplies Division of the Ministry of Health, and that they knowingly used these funds for unlawful purposes.
