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Yoshitha arrested under Money Laundering Act; remanded till tomorrow
View(s):By Ranjith Padmasiri
Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s son, Yoshitha Rajapaksa, who was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, was remanded till tomorrow after being produced before Colombo Additional Magistrate Pavithra Sanjeevani Pathirana last evening.
Mr. Rajapaksa was arrested in Beliatta last morning by the CID and brought to CID headquarters in Colombo, where a lengthy statement was recorded from him. He was thereafter taken to the residence of the additional magistrate.
Seeking bail, President’s Counsel Sampath Mendis, who appeared for Mr. Rajapaksa with attorneys Waruna Jayasinghe and Manoj Gamage, argued that this was an investigation into a complaint filed in 2017 and that the owner of the property in question was also a suspect in the case. He said she had been arrested earlier, released on bail, and appeared in court when summoned.
He added that the case had been laid by the court and Mr. Rajapaksa had been arrested after the case was reopened. He further noted that Mr. Rajapaksa had been arrested on several occasions during the Yahapalana government period and had been granted bail on every occasion. Mr. Rajapaksa had not violated any of the bail conditions in these cases, he pointed out.
Mr. Rajapaksa’s counsel told court that his client resided in Dehiwala and had travelled to Beliatta for a wedding, where he was arrested. He noted that Mr. Rajapaksa would have come to CID headquarters if they had summoned him.
The CID, however, strongly objected to bail being granted to the suspect, arguing that investigations were still ongoing.
Taking the facts into consideration, the additional magistrate ordered that Mr. Rajapaksa be remanded till tomorrow.
Mr. Rajapaksa was arrested after the Attorney General instructed the CID director to initiate legal action against him for acquiring property using illegally obtained assets.
The AG’s instructions were issued after the CID sent him extracts of the investigation it had conducted on Mr Rajapaksa under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The AG had informed that the CID could also take action against Mr. Rajapaksa’s grandmother Daisy Forest on charges of aiding and abetting the crime.
The CID is accusing Mr. Rajapaksa of acquiring a plot of land located at Sirimal Uyana in Ratmalana, using illegally obtained assets.
The Sunday Times learns that the CID has begun an investigation into bank accounts and deposits maintained by Mr. Rajapaksa.
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