News
Notice issued on four to appear before special HC on Aug. 9
Notice has been issued on four accused to appear before the Permanent High Court at Bar on August 9 — the first to be summoned before the special HC set up to speedily prosecute those accused of large scale misappropriation of state funds.
The four are former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Chief of Staff Gamini Sedara Senarath, who also served as chairman of Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation (SLIC), the SLIC’s former Managing Director Piyadasa Kudabalage, the SLIC’s former director Neil Bandara Hapuhinna and another suspect K.L. Lasantha Bandara.
On August 9, they will be indicted and a date for the trial fixed, the Sunday Times learns.
Renovation work has not been completed on an old court building which is to house the permanent HC. Therefore, it will sit in one of the existing High Courts in Colombo. The three judges appointed to the special court are Sampath Abeykoon (President), Sampath Wijeratne and Champa Janaki Rajaratne.
There are 24 charges against the suspects. Deputy Solicitor General Thusitha Mudalige filed the indictments in the HC this week.
The charges have been filed under the Penal Code, the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and the Public Property Act.
The time period within which the offences were committed ranges from February 1, 2014 to January 20, 2015. The offences relate to the transfer of Rs. 500 million from Litro Gas to Canwill Holdings Pvt Limited.
However, according to the charge sheet, the money had instead gone into the account of Helanco Hotels and Spa that backed the proposed Hyatt hotel in Hambantota. The first instalment of Rs 50 million had been transferred on February 14 while Rs 450 million was sent on February 19.
Mr. Kudabalage, it is alleged, on October 13, 2014 again transferred Rs 48 million from this amount to purchase two plots at Sandatenna, Nuwara Eliya. It is also alleged that another Rs 18.9 million had been spent to buy an apartment for the use of Lasantha Bandara. Hence all four have been charged with money laundering.
Additionally some of this money was used to pay off a credit card bill amounting to around Rs.700,000.
There are 92 documents to be presented to court as evidence while 63 witnesses have been listed. The witnesses include former Ceylinco group chairman Lalith Kothalawala, Presidents Counsel Kalinga Indatissa, the Central Bank’s former Deputy Governor P. Samarasiri, former Cabinet Secretary Sumith Abeysinghe, Bank of Ceylon and Urban Development Authority officials.