Navy Entry Requirements Were Changed for Yoshitha; Sent Abroad Without Completing Training

COLOMBO (News 1st); Yoshitha Rajapaksa, who was arrested by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption, was released on three personal bail bonds of Rs. 5 million each, after being produced before court.

The allegation against Yoshitha Rajapaksa, the son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, is that he altered required qualifications to be recruited as an executive officer in the Sri Lanka Navy and subsequently obtained training at the Royal Naval Academy in the United Kingdom using state funds.

The Colombo Additional Magistrate ordered that the suspect be subjected to a foreign travel ban and directed him to surrender his passport to court.

Yoshitha Rajapaksa was arrested this morning on charges of aiding and abetting corruption by being recruited as an officer trainee in the Navy’s executive branch in 2006 without meeting the required qualifications, and by securing an opportunity to attend a training programme at the Royal Naval Academy in the United Kingdom using government funds outside the established procedure.

He was later produced before the Colombo Magistrate’s Court at approximately 1.45 p.m. today.

Presenting the suspect before court, Deputy Director General of the Bribery Commission, Ruvini Wickramasinghe, explained the facts of the case.

"Your Honour, the complaint regarding this incident was received on June 25, 2016. Accordingly, the Commission initiated investigations. The complaint states that the suspect had participated in naval training programmes held in England and Ukraine by misusing government funds, while depriving qualified applicants of such opportunities. At that time, this individual, who is a civilian in the dock today, was also a civilian in 2006 when he was deemed eligible for the Royal Navy Young Officer training at the Royal Naval Academy in the United Kingdom. The opportunities to receive this training are extremely limited. Your Honour, selection to this prestigious course is usually based on being the most outstanding cadet officer during a two-year training period or based on performance during training. However, this suspect, although a civilian in 2006, was proposed and included in the list and was sent for the course in haste."

The court was also informed that the required qualifications for applying to the Navy’s executive branch had been altered specifically to facilitate the recruitment of the suspect.

"Your Honour, the suspect sat for the Advanced Level examination in the arts stream in 2006. The minimum qualifications required to apply for the Navy’s executive branch are passing the GCE Ordinary Level examination with credit passes in six subjects including Mathematics, Sinhala, Science, and English, and passing the GCE Advanced Level examination in Mathematics or Science streams. Newspaper advertisements dated October 15 and 22, 2006 were published calling for recruitment of cadet officers. However, to facilitate the recruitment of this suspect, the qualifications were revised to state that passing two subjects from any stream, science, mathematics or arts, was sufficient."

The Deputy Director General also stated that Yoshitha Rajapaksa had undergone medical examinations required for overseas training even before being officially recruited into the Navy.

"Your Honour, prior to being selected for the Royal Navy Young Officer training in the United Kingdom, candidates must undergo a medical examination. The suspect underwent the relevant blood test on December 6, 2006. However, he and 26 other officers were recruited into the Navy on December 14 and 15, 2006. Therefore, he underwent medical examinations for overseas training even before being recruited into the Navy. These 26 officers were sent for naval training in Trincomalee on December 29, 2006. This suspect did not complete that training and returned to Colombo. He proceeded to the United Kingdom for Royal Naval Academy training on January 7, 2007."

Court was further informed that, while officers were typically sent for such training on scholarships, Yoshitha Rajapaksa was sent at the expense of the Sri Lankan government for the very first time at a cost of Rs. 6.2 Million.

"Your Honour, from 1995 to 2010, officers were sent for this course on scholarships. However, in this instance, over Rs. 5.4 million was spent by the Sri Lankan government to send this suspect for the course, while personal expenses exceeding Rs. 800,000 were also incurred. Accordingly, nearly Rs. 6.2 million of state funds were spent. This action has caused a loss to the Government of Sri Lanka."

She further alleged that the act was a conspiracy involving the then Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda and the suspect.

"Within a short period of about two weeks, the then Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda and the suspect conspired to cause a loss exceeding Rs. 6.2 million to the government. The former Navy Commander deliberately acted to provide the suspect with undue advantage and benefit. Accordingly, under Section 70 of the Bribery Act, the suspect has committed the offence of corruption."

President’s Counsel Sampath Mendis, appearing for the suspect, requested court to grant bail under Section 14 of the Bail Act.

After considering the submissions, Colombo Additional Magistrate Lahiru N. Silva ordered that the suspect be released on bail.

The case is scheduled to be taken up again on August 4.