Former health minister Keheliya Rambukwella has claimed that he was not a guilty party to the purchase of substandard human immunoglobulin vaccines.
Speaking to journalists yesterday (22), Rambuwella said he was the first to lodge a complaint on 02 August against the scam.
According to him, the supplier in question had been attempting to sell medicines to the government since 2013 with a claim of being a manufacturer.
As the health minister, he said, he forwarded the supplier’s bids to the Medicines Regulatory Authority.
A few weeks later, the Authority’s CEO informed him that those bids cannot be accepted, he said, adding that he had no further involvement in the procurement process.
A network including the health ministry secretary was behind making payments to that supplier, added Rambukwella.
What Tiran said
At a media briefing earlier, public security minister Tiran Alles said Rambukwella would definitely be arrested if his involvement in the immunoglobulin scam is proven.
The CID is investigating the matter and if it finds adequate evidence that the minister is in the wrong, it will arrest him, said Alles.
