The President has given a contract to print lottery tickets amounting to millions of rupees to Achala Bogollagama in violation of tender procedures, it is learnt.

Achala Bogollagama is former Foreign Affairs Minister Rohitha Bogollagama’s sister. The President in his capacity as the Finance Minister has given the ticket printing contract to Achala’s Oracle International Company when Print Care had given a much lesser quotation for the job.

Achala’s company has quoted 49 cents to print one lottery ticket when Print Care had quoted 45 cents for each ticket. However, the State Printing Corporation representative in the Tender Evaluation Committee had rejected Print Care saying the tear factor in the sample ticket given by the company was not sufficient.

However, Lotteries Board sources say that the sample presented by Print Care was similar to the lottery tickets printed by the State Printing Corporation.

It is now learnt that the representative from the Printing Corporation who had helped her secure the job is one of her close associates. Hence, the contract to print millions of lottery tickets has been assigned to Achala.

She had also received the help of the parliamentary Affairs Ministry Secretary who had headed the tender board.

It is learnt that she had received the support of the Lotteries Board Chairman and Managing Director due to the political influence wielded by her.

Achala had previously taken several contracts under Uthuru Vasanthaya and Maga Neguma using the same political influence.