Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga revealed that she was offered a USD 5 million bribe by a family member of a junior Minister in her cabinet when she was the Prime Minister.
Kumaratunga said that the bribe was offered at her office in Parliament at the time to approve a deal with a Singaporean investor.
The former President said that she rejected the deal and threatened to arrest the individual and ordered them to leave.
Kumaratunga said that politicians must have the ethics to have the strength to refuse a bribe.
She noted that a former President had once told his Cabinet they can take bribes but must not get caught.
As a result, Kumaratunga says so many politicians stole and were not arrested.
The former President was speaking at the 45th National Conference of Chartered Accountants held in Colombo.
Former Presidents Ranil Wickremesinghe and Maithripala Sirisena were also speakers at the event.