Minister Keheliya Rambukwella has reportedly informed of his decision to step down from his ministerial portfolio of Environment, State Media reported.
According to State Media Dinamina, the minister is said to have conveyed his decision via a letter to President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
It is reported that the President has accepted Minister Rambukwella’s decision and has brought the Ministry of Environment under his purview.
A new Minister of Environment is expected to be appointed in the coming days.
Minister Keheliya Rambukwella is currently in remand custody over the illegal importation of substandard stocks of Immune Globulin vaccines under his tenure as the Minister of Health.
In November last year, the Criminal Investigations Department commenced an investigation into allegations that a pharmaceutical company had imported 22,500 vials of substandard Immune Globulin vaccines by creating forged documents with the assistance of two senior state officials from the Health Ministry.
Investigations at the time revealed that financial fraud of Rs. 130 million had occurred via the imports of the said substandard medicine.
Several high-ranking Health Ministry officials, including the former Health Ministry Secretary, were apprehended and remanded thereafter, over the illegal importation. (NewsWire)
