Sri Lanka ex-minister jailed over May Day food bill

A Sri Lankan court jailed former aviation minister Piyankara Jayaratne for seven years on Tuesday over government money used to buy lunch for voters attending a ruling party May Day rally.

Jayaratne, 61, was also fined 200,000 rupees, about $615, in a case involving $2,500 paid by Sri Lankan Catering, a state-owned company, for then-president Mahinda Rajapaksa's rally in 2014.

Colombo High Court Judge Mohamed Mihal said Jayaratne had breached the public trust placed in him by funding the Rajapaksa rally for personal ambitions. The case was filed in 2019.

Jayaratne faces two other charges involving the purchase of Airbus aircraft in 2013 and the use of state funds to print personal greeting cards.

The decision comes during a corruption crackdown under President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who took office in 2024. Two former cabinet ministers are already in jail for corruption crimes, while several deputies are serving long prison sentences.

Former finance minister Ravi Karunanayake was arrested on Monday for allegedly placing his personal staff on the government payroll. Another former minister, Keheliya Rambukwella, was arrested earlier this month for allegedly aiding the theft of a centuries-old sacred rock from the palace of the island's last Sinhala king.

Immediate family members of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa are facing investigation or prosecution over money laundering, bribery and murder. The Rajapaksas deny all allegations.