Court Orders Arrest of Basil Rajapaksa Over Alleged Misuse of Public Funds

COLOMBO (News 1st); The Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court has ordered the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to arrest former Minister Basil Rajapaksa and several others over the alleged misuse of Rs. 7.8 million from the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) for political campaigning during the 2014 Uva Provincial Council election.

The order was issued today by Colombo Fort Magistrate Pasan Amarasena after the CID informed court, through a motion, that the suspects will be named under the Public Property Act based on instructions from the Attorney General.

Alongside Rajapaksa, those named in the case include former SLTPB Chairman Bhashwara Gunaratne and former Managing Director Rumi Jauffer, among others.

The CID requested court approval to proceed with their arrest in connection with the alleged financial misuse.

Investigators further informed court that attempts had already been made to locate and arrest the suspects at their known residences. However, the CID reported that the individuals were not present at those locations at the time.

The Magistrate also granted a request to impose a foreign travel ban on the suspects, and ordered that the Controller General of Immigration and Emigration be informed of the order.

The case revolves around allegations that funds allocated for tourism promotion were diverted for political purposes during the 2014 election campaign. According to the CID, approximately 12,000 T-shirts were printed using SLTPB funds under the guise of tourism promotional activities.

However, investigators revealed that the printed material bore political messaging. One side of the T-shirts reportedly featured the image of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, while the other side displayed the name of a political party.

Police further informed court that these T-shirts were distributed at a political event held in the Monaragala District.