Ravi Karunanayake failed to appear before the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption for the fourth consecutive time, prompting officials to visit his residence. The commission has indicated it will pursue legal action.

Former Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake did not appear before the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption on the scheduled date, marking his fourth failure to respond to a summons in the same matter. The investigation centres on the recruitment of five officials to the National Lotteries Board on a contractual basis outside established procedures, with these individuals subsequently assigned to his personal staff.

Karunanayake was initially summoned on July 16th. His subsequent absences have been attributed to various reasons, including a family wedding on July 30th and his lawyer's unavailability on another occasion. When he again failed to appear, commission officials visited his residence in Battaramulla, though he was not present at the time.

The repeated non-appearance has prompted the Bribery Commission to announce that legal action will be initiated against Karunanayake for his failure to comply with the summons. Separately, Sharmila Perera, the former chairperson of the National Lotteries Board involved in the same investigation, was arrested and subsequently released on bail in June. She was freed on two sureties of one million rupees each following her appearance before the Colombo Chief Magistrate.