Leader of the United National Party, Ranil Wickremesinghe, says he will appear before the Bribery Commission after his lawyer, who is currently overseas, returns to the country.

The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) yesterday (21) issued a fresh summons for former President Ranil Wickremesinghe to appear before them on Friday (25).

This follows a previous summons for April 17, which the former President was unable to attend due to the New Year holiday period.

The summons relates to statements made by Wickremesinghe regarding Parliamentarian Chamara Sampath Dasanayake, who is currently in remand custody over corruption charges.

In a statement, former President Wickremesinghe said that the incident occurred during his time as Prime Minister, and claimed that Dasanayake withdrew the funds under a circular issued by the Treasury Secretary.