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COLOMBO: The son of Sri Lanka’s former president Mahinda Rajapaksa was banned on Monday from leaving the island nation following his arrest for alleged money laundering.
The case against Yoshitha Rajapaksa dates back years, but has received renewed impetus since President Anura Kumara Dissanayake — who has vowed to fight endemic corruption — won a landslide election victory.
Several members of the powerful Rajapaksa family and close associates have been charged with an array of offences over the years, including corruption and even murder — all of which are still pending in the courts. A former junior naval officer, Yoshitha Rajapaksa, 36, was hit with the travel ban after police said he was unable to explain the sources of income used to purchase a home while his father was in power from 2005 to 2015.
He was arrested and spent two days in detention before being released on Monday by a magistrate in Colombo on a bond of 100 million rupees ($344,000).
Yoshitha had told investigators that he raised money to buy the property by selling a small bag of gems his grand-aunt had given him. She was unable to recall how she acquired the precious stones when asked.
He was arrested in 2016 on a separate money laundering charge related to his purchase of a television network. Both cases have sat dormant for years.
His older brother Namal, a lawmaker in Sri Lanka’s parliament, also faces separate money laundering charges which have not yet gone to trial.
Dissanayake came to power in September 2024 after pledging to expedite the pending criminal cases and bring back stolen assets allegedly stashed abroad.
Cabinet spokesman Nalinda Jayatissa told reporters in Colombo over the weekend that the new government was providing more resources to the criminal investigations department to speed up prosecution.
Published in Dawn, January 28th, 2025
