No liquor licenses were issued as bribes: Ex-President Ranil responds to allegations

Liquor licenses were provided under a transparent programme enabling the government to earn a revenue of Rs. 4 billion in 2024, former President Ranil Wickremesinghe said.

 “The previous government did not provide liquor licenses for charity but introduced a new transparent exercise enabling the government to earn additional revenue during a difficult period. We adopted a new strategy to earn additional revenue,” he said in a special statement. 

Wickremesinghe was responding to the document which was tabled in Parliament by Leader of the House Bimal Ratnayake, which said around 316 liquor licenses were issued in 2024 by the previous regime.