Sri Lanka, Aug. 20 -- The Colombo High Court has scheduled a pre-trial conference on September 7 in the bribery case against former Investment Promotion Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena and former Board of Investment (BOI) Director General Jayantha Edirisinghe.

The case, filed by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC), alleges that the two officials caused a financial loss of over Rs. 1.7 million to the government by using BOI funds to publish newspaper supplements in 11 newspapers, including Mawbima, Ceylon Today, Lankadeepa, and Rivira, on November 19, 2014. The supplements marked the anniversary of the second inauguration of then-President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

During today's hearing, the Bribery C...