Former Sri Lankan Minister Is Charged With Misuse of Public Funds
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Version 0 of 1. COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — The Sri Lankan police on Wednesday arrested Basil Rajapaksa, the country’s former economic development minister and a brother of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, on charges of misappropriating thousands of dollars in public funds from a development program for the poor run by his ministry. Sri Lanka’s new president, Maithripala Sirisena, won power in January after a campaign that focused on the excesses of the Rajapaksa family and on a promise to prosecute its members if elected. Basil Rajapaksa is the first to be arrested on corruption charges. Mr. Rajapaksa, who for years was considered one of Sri Lanka’s most powerful ministers, was questioned by the Financial Crimes Investigation Division in Colombo for nearly 10 hours, his lawyers said. His lawyers said that according to a police report submitted to a judge, the former minister faces three charges of misappropriating money; two for disbursing money from the state-run Divineguma program to retirees and a housing project without necessary treasury approval. He is also accused of using Divineguma funds to print election materials. The Rajapaska government routinely made such payments just ahead of a campaign or a vote to curry favor with voters. Mr. Rajapaksa returned to Sri Lanka on Tuesday for the first time since January, when he left for the United States after the election. He had lived in the United States in the 1990s and retains citizenship. He told throngs of supporters who gathered to welcome him at the international airport outside Colombo, the capital, that he had come back to face the corruption investigation. “We would have taken some decisions politically, but the Rajapaksas never stole a penny from the state, swindled the people or committed crimes,” Mr. Rajapaksa said. “I can vouch for it.” U. R. De Silva, his lawyer, said, “We totally deny the charges of misappropriation.” The police also arrested Nihal Jayatilake, who served as Mr. Rajapaksa’s secretary when he was a minister, and R. R. K. Ranawaka, the former head of Divineguma. The judge denied bail for the three suspects but ordered that while in custody they be treated in the prison hospital for ailments that were not disclosed. Mr. De Silva acknowledged that Mr. Rajapaksa had instructed that Divineguma funds be disbursed, but said the country’s independent election commissioner had ordered the payments stopped after the official start of the election campaign. The lawyer could not say, however, whether Mr. Rajapaksa’s ministry continued the handouts. Another brother, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, who served as defense secretary in the former administration, has been summoned to appear before the country’s Bribery Commission on Thursday. A Colombo court banned protests outside the commission’s headquarters after supporters demonstrated against the issuance of similar summonses to Mahinda Rajapaksa. |