• Interpol Red Notice to be sought 

The Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court yesterday (14) issued an arrest warrant for former Minister Basil Rajapaksa over the alleged misuse of Rs 7.8 million in Tourism Promotion Bureau funds during the 2014 Uva Provincial Council Election.

The Magistrate also directed the Illegal Assets Investigation Division of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to take steps to obtain a Red Notice through the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol).

The orders were issued following submissions made by the CID regarding the alleged misuse of funds allocated to the Tourism Promotion Bureau in 2014.

The CID’s Illegal Assets Investigation Unit informed the Court that the Rs 7.8 million had not been used for the Bureau’s promotional activities as intended. Instead, the funds had allegedly been used to provide 12,000 T-shirts during the Uva Provincial Council Election, causing a financial loss to the Government.