Former National Youth Services Council (NYSC) Chairperson Lalith Piyum Perera was arrested by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) over alleged financial malpractice and was granted bail by the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court yesterday (28).

He is accused of misrepresenting land and buildings in the Samapura area of Ampara as State property when preparing sublease agreements, before subsequently obtaining the property on lease from the NYSC.

According to the allegations, Rs 3.8 million in Council funds was unlawfully and improperly paid to a third party in connection with the arrangement. A further Rs 1.3 million was allegedly spent on renovating the building using Council funds without formal approval from the Board of Directors.

The alleged irregular payments are said to have caused a loss of Rs 5.1 million to the Government.