The Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court (MC) granted permission for the Central Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) to detain and interrogate the son of former State Minister Shantha Bandara for 24 hours in connection with the alleged robbery of Rs 20 million belonging to a Chinese national.
Also, the Colombo Fort MC yesterday (22) issued a warrant for the arrest of the former Sri Lankan Ambassador to the US, Jaliya Wickramasuriya, who has been named as a suspect in a case involving the alleged misappropriation of Government funds and has failed to appear before Court. Colombo Fort Magistrate Pasan Amarasena also directed the Criminal Investigation Department to seek the Attorney General's instructions regarding the case and report progress to the Court on 9 December.
Meanwhile, former Navy Commander, Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne has been granted bail by the Colombo Fort MC after appearing as a suspect in a case alleging that he aided a suspect to evade arrest in connection with the 2008 abduction and disappearance of 11 youths in Colombo and its suburbs. Wijegunaratne appeared before the Court in compliance with a notice previously issued by the Court. When the charges were presented, Wijegunaratne pleaded not guilty. Magistrate Amarasena then ordered that Wijegunaratne be released on two surety bails of Rs one million each. The Magistrate further directed that the case be taken up again on 9 December for trial proceedings.
The Attorney General (AG) yesterday raised objections before the Supreme Court (SC) to a request made by counsel representing the son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Yoshitha Rajapaksa, seeking an order to prevent the Colombo High Court (HC) from proceeding with the trial against him under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The objection was raised by Deputy Solicitor General Janaka Bandara, appearing on behalf of the AG, when the appeal filed by Rajapaksa was taken up for consideration before the SC yesterday.
Former private secretary to former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, political activist Sugeeshwara Bandara, has been further remanded until 30 July after being produced before the Colombo Fort MC. Bandara was arrested on 18 June in connection with an ongoing investigation into allegations that he had drawn salaries from two Government institutions, thereby misappropriating State funds. Meanwhile, the Anti-Corruption Committee of the Special Presidential Commission of Inquiry had lodged a complaint with the CCIB regarding an alleged financial irregularity under the President’s Expenditure Head. Investigations subsequently revealed that Bandara had served as the private secretary to Rajapaksa in 2022 while also holding the post of Project Director at the Presidential Secretariat during the same period. Based on these findings, he was arrested in the Kollupitiya area on charges of receiving salaries for two positions concurrently under the President’s Expenditure Head.