Former Sri Lankan minister arrested over theft of ancient artifact from last Sinhala king's palace
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Former Sri Lankan minister arrested over theft of ancient artifact from last Sinhala king's palace")
Former Sri Lankan minister arrested over theft of ancient artifact from last Sinhala king's palace Photograph: (Credit: AFP)
Former Sri Lankan Minister Keheliya Rambukwella was arrested on Tuesday (Aug 18) for allegedly aiding the theft of a centuries-old sacred moonstone from the palace of King Veera Parakrama Narendrasinghe.
A former Sri Lankan minister, Keheliya Rambukwella, was arrested on Tuesday (Aug 18) by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC). He is accused of assisting in the theft of a centuries-old sacred “moonstone”, a heavy, carved circular granite rock that formed part of a symbolic stepping stone entrance to the palace of Veera Parakrama Narendrasinghe, the island's last Sinhala king who reigned until 1739.
According to CIABOC, Rambukwella conspired, aided, and abetted the removal of the valuable historic artifact in December 2022 while serving as a minister, and subsequently obstructed police investigations into the matter.
Additionally, CIABOC charged Rambukwella with using state funds to hire six individuals for his private business. "He conspired, aided and abetted the theft at a time when he was a minister," CIABOC said and as quoted in news agency AFP.
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This arrest occurs alongside a separate ongoing court case involving the former health minister regarding the purchase of counterfeit medicines for state hospitals. Police informed the court that Rambukwella authorised the procurement of a life-saving cancer drug that was actually water. Multiple senior health ministry officials have also been indicted in connection with the pharmaceutical scam. "The drug had been issued to hospitals between July and September when patients reported adverse reactions triggering quality tests," an investigator had told AFP.
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At the time of the scam in February 2024, Rambukwella was the environment minister of the island nation. The supplier was to be paid a sum of $3.1 million but the transactions were paused after quality concerns were raised in the matter. Later, Rambukwella held the position of health minister during a severe national shortage of medicines, which followed Sri Lanka's bankruptcy declaration and its $46 billion foreign debt default in April 2022.
