• Court bars foreign travel; CIABOC ordered to submit probe progress in December

Attorney-at-law Rakitha Rajapakshe, son of President’s Counsel and former Justice Minister Dr Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, former SJB Horana electorate organiser Charith Abeysinghe, and former Airport and Aviation Services Sri Lanka Limited Executive Director Aruna Sri Warushahennadige were yesterday (28) granted bail by the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court in connection with an alleged Rs 120 million bribery case.

Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama ordered each suspect to be released on a cash bail of Rs 100,000 and two personal bails of Rs one million each.

The Magistrate further directed that the personal sureties provide certificates proving that they possess income or assets equivalent to the value of the bail. The suspects were also barred from travelling overseas and ordered to surrender their passports to Court.

The Court directed the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) to submit a progress report on the investigation on 8 December.

Meanwhile, Abeysinghe has been taken back into prison custody after failing to fulfil the bail conditions imposed by the Court. Following the bail order, Rajapakshe and the other suspect were released after completing the required bail conditions. However, Abeysinghe was unable to satisfy the bail requirements and was subsequently taken back to prison by prison officials.

The three suspects were initially arrested and produced before Court by CIABOC over allegations that they accepted a Rs 120 million bribe from the wife of alleged drug trafficker Nadun Chinthaka Wickramaratne, alias Harak Kata, in exchange for facilitating his removal from Criminal Investigation Department (CID) detention under a detention order (DO) and arranging his transfer to a secure prison.

The alleged incident relates to events in March 2023, following Wickramaratne’s arrest in Madagascar and detention in Sri Lanka under CID-issued DOs.

According to CIABOC, Rajapakshe, Abeysinghe, and Warushahennadige had travelled to Dubai on the same flight, where they allegedly met Wickramaratne’s wife Madushika Maduwanthi and an associate known as Midigama Ruwan.

Investigators alleged that the suspects initially demanded Rs 500 million, claiming they could influence official procedures to prevent Wickramaratne from being killed while in custody, remove his DOs, arrange his transfer from Boossa High-Security Prison, and facilitate his release from ongoing investigations.

The alleged demand was later reduced to Rs 200 million, of which Rs 120 million was allegedly paid in two instalments, Rs 100 million initially and a further Rs 20 million later. CIABOC informed the Court the money was allegedly transferred to Sri Lanka through the “Undiyal” system.