President says politicians received payments from underworld figures

In a startling revelation, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has accused unnamed Parliamentarians and government Ministers of maintaining ties with organised criminals, including receiving regular monthly payments from underworld groups.

Speaking at the launch event for the resumption of construction of the Central Expressway’s Kadawatha–Mirigama section, the President said this information came to light during ongoing investigations into a powerful criminal network whose leaders were recently arrested in Indonesia.

President Dissanayake said this group was responsible for over 50% of Sri Lanka’s drug trade and more than 75% of the country’s underworld activity.

He claimed some Ministers went as far as hosting these individuals in their own homes.

“These payments were not one-off bribes. They were systematic like collecting taxes. This is how deeply the criminal network has infiltrated our institutions,” he said.

While the President stopped short of naming those allegedly involved, he promised decisive action against what he described as an entrenched criminal-political nexus.