Former President Maithripala Sirisena appeared today before the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) to provide a statement regarding allegations surrounding the controversial 2019 presidential pardon granted to Jude Shramantha Anthony Jayamaha.

The inquiry stems from a petition alleging that money was received in exchange for granting amnesty to Jayamaha, who was convicted of the brutal murder of 19-year-old Swedish-Sri Lankan Yvonne Jonsson. The murder, which occurred on 1 July 2005 at the Royal Park Condominium complex in Rajagiriya, involved Jonsson being beaten and strangled in the stairwell. Jayamaha was initially sentenced to death for the crime.

During the final days of Sirisena’s presidency in 2019, Jayamaha received a presidential pardon, a move that ignited significant public outrage. In 2024, the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka declared the pardon unconstitutional and overturned it. Jayamaha, who reportedly fled to Singapore shortly after the pardon, remains at large and has yet to be extradited.

At the time, the President's Media Division stated that the pardon was issued based on recommendations from prominent Buddhist religious leaders, including Ven. Rathana Thero, Ven. Baddegama Samitha Thero, and Ven. Dr. Keradewala Punnarathana Nayake Thero.

In July 2022 complaint has been filed with the CIABOC to investigate whether  Sirisena and/or Athuraliye Rathana Thero received money as a bribe to grant a Presidential pardon to Jayamaha. The complaint was filed by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Executive Committee Member Montague Sarachchandra