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Ravi, Mahendran, Aloysius released from 11 charges   

07 Dec 2021

BY Buddhika Samaraweera Former Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake, former Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Governor Arjuna Mahendran, and several others including those connected to the primary dealer Perpetual Treasuries Ltd. such as Mahendran’s son-in-law Arjun Aloysius, were released from 11 of the 22 charges in the case filed over the Central Bank Treasury Bond scams in March 2016. The case pertaining to the criminal misappropriation of Treasury Bonds valued at Rs. 15 billion during the CBSL’s Treasury Bond auctions held between 29 and 31 March 2016 was taken up before the High Court Trial-at-Bar comprising Judges Amal Ranaraja, Namal Balalle, and Aditya Patabendige. Attorneys-at-Law for the defendants, who raised a preliminary objection to the case, had previously requested the court to acquit the defendants from the said charges on the ground that the charges could not be pursued against them. Accordingly, delivering the verdict yesterday (6), Judge Patabendige stated that 11 of the 22 charges against the defendants could not be carried forward and that the defendants would therefore be acquitted of the 11 said charges. Meanwhile, the Additional Solicitor General (ASG) President’s Counsel Priyantha Nawana, appearing for the Attorney General’s (AG) Department, requested the court to provide a date to decide whether the charge sheet filed against the defendants would have to be amended or withdrawn or if alternate legal action would have to be pursued, given the release of the defendants from 11 of the charges. The court then announced that the case would again be taken up on 26 January 2022.


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