Sarana Gunawardena
Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP)
4
Legal matters
0
Investigations
0
Charges pending
1
Acquitted / dismissed
2 matters convicted or under appeal — see the Cases tab for the breakdown.
Next in court
Not publicly confirmed
Sarana Gunawardena is currently serving 18 convictions across four corruption cases. Four years per guilty charge nominally produced 72 years; terms within each case run concurrently, while the four effective four-year case sentences run consecutively, producing an effective 16-year term. Rs.100,000 fine per conviction (Rs.1.8m total). following a 2026 conviction.
Corruption prosecutions arising from Development Lotteries Board vehicle-rental payments during 2006-2007. Validation research found 18 convictions across four corruption cases, rather than only four counts.
The full running account, event by event, is in the Timeline and Court Cases tabs below.
Sarana Gunawardena legal timeline
- 9 June 2026Development Lotteries Board vehicle rent…
Convicted
On 9 June 2026 the Colombo High Court (Judge Mohamed Mihal) convicted Sarana Gunawardena in corruption cases brought by CIABOC over vehicle rentals for the Development Lotteries Board during his time as its chairman. He was sentenced to four years' rigorous imprisonment per charge; terms run concurrently within each case and consecutively across the four cases, an effective 16 years, with fines totalling Rs. 1.8 million.
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He was taken into custody and his lawyers said he would appeal.
Court: Colombo High Court (trial); Court of Appeal (appeal)
- 21 August 2024Madiwela house rental advance case
Appeal Filed
CIABOC filed revision on 21 Aug 2024 and Court of Appeal issued notice on 29 Aug 2024.
Court: Colombo High Court; Court of Appeal
Sources (1)
- 30 July 2021Development Lotteries Board bribery case…
Case Dismissed
Dismissed 30 Jul 2021 after the CIABOC prosecutor conceded that the 3 Bribery Commissioners' written approval had not been obtained before filing - a procedural defect, not an acquittal on the merits.
Court: Colombo Chief Magistrate's Court
Sources (1)
- 7 January 2020Development Lotteries Board vehicle rent…
Convicted
The Colombo Chief Magistrate's Court convicted Sarana Gunawardena under the Public Property Act over the leasing of vehicles at a loss to the Government while he chaired the Development Lotteries Board, and sentenced him to three years in prison and a Rs. 300,000 fine. He was later released on bail pending appeal by the Colombo High Court.
Court: Colombo Chief Magistrate's Court
Sources (3)
Sarana Gunawardena court cases
4
Cases Total
1
Case Dismissed
2
Under Appeal
1
Status Unclear
Development Lotteries Board vehicle rental case
Causing loss to government / misappropriation under the Public Property Act - leasing 3 vehicles at Rs. 960,000 (vs. an assessed value of Rs. 635,000) while Chairman of the Development Lotteries Board; CIABOC's own record frames it as "influencing officers to rent vehicles from his wife"
What’s happened
Appeal to Colombo High Court; released on Rs. 300,000 bail pending appeal
- Court
- Colombo Chief Magistrate's Court (trial); Colombo High Court (appeal)
- Sentence
- 3 years' imprisonment (1 year per charge) + Rs. 300,000 fine (rigorous imprisonment per CIABOC's record; not confirmed in Daily Mirror's report)
- Next hearing / due
- Next hearing not confirmed
Sources (3)
Development Lotteries Board bribery cases
8 bribery counts re: Development Lotteries Board vehicle-rental losses
What’s happened
Dismissed 30 Jul 2021 after the CIABOC prosecutor conceded that the 3 Bribery Commissioners' written approval had not been obtained before filing - a procedural defect, not an acquittal on the merits
- Court
- Colombo Chief Magistrate's Court
- Next hearing / due
- No upcoming hearing announced
Sources (1)
Development Lotteries Board vehicle rental corruption cases
Corruption prosecutions arising from Development Lotteries Board vehicle-rental payments during 2006-2007. Validation research found 18 convictions across four corruption cases, rather than only four counts.
What’s happened
4 appeal petitions filed to the Court of Appeal (approx. 1 Jul 2026) seeking acquittal. On 25 September 2026, Chinari (Lakmanthi) Hettiarachchi (Gunawardena's wife) was arrested and remanded by CIABOC over an allegation she paid a Rs. 50,000 bribe to a Colombo High Court office assistant to influence a judge toward imposing a suspended sentence on Gunawardena.
The Island explicitly ties this to the present matter, reporting that it 'follows the Colombo High Court sentencing Gunawardena to 16 years' rigorous imprisonment in June' - confirming the case link that earlier reports had left unspecified. The mechanism (e.g. whether this concerns his pending Court of Appeal petitions or a separate bail/sentence-suspension application) is still not detailed in any source.
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This development concerns his wife's alleged conduct, not a new charge or custody change for Gunawardena himself. On 6 Oct 2026 the Minuwangoda court further remanded Gunawardena's wife and two other suspects until 20 Oct 2026; the Minuwangoda District Court Registrar was also reported arrested and remanded in connection with the alleged bribe.
These are allegations against others, not a change to Gunawardena's own case or custody.
- Court
- Colombo High Court (trial); Court of Appeal (appeal)
- Sentence
- 18 convictions across four corruption cases. Four years per guilty charge nominally produced 72 years; terms within each case run concurrently, while the four effective four-year case sentences run consecutively, producing an effective 16-year term. Rs.100,000 fine per conviction (Rs.1.8m total).
- Next hearing / due
- Next hearing not confirmed
Madiwela house rental advance case
Matter concerning an alleged Rs.1.98m advance paid to a landlord for a rented Madiwela property while Sarana Gunawardena headed the Development Lotteries Board.
What’s happened
Colombo High Court discharged the matter on a preliminary objection; CIABOC filed revision on 21 Aug 2024 and Court of Appeal issued notice on 29 Aug 2024.
- Court
- Colombo High Court; Court of Appeal
- Next hearing / due
- Next hearing not confirmed
Sources (1)
Sarana Gunawardena in the news
In the news
Stories in the news feed that name Sarana Gunawardena, with every outlet’s report of each grouped together. These are other outlets’ reports; what they say is not Nadu’s verified record.
No stories naming Sarana Gunawardena in the news right now. New reports appear here as outlets publish them.
Sarana Gunawardena political career
Ministerial positions
Deputy/State Minister of Petroleum Industries
2010–2015
Other political positions
Member of Parliament for Gampaha District
2001–2004
Chairman, National Lotteries Board / Development Lotteries Board
2005–2007
Member of Parliament for Gampaha District
2008–2015
Sarana Gunawardena party history
SLFP is the underlying party during his established parliamentary career; no reliable later formal SLPP switch was found.