CID to courier fresh court notice to former CB Chief

Saturday, 17 February 2018 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Court reissues notice to report to CID as previous was undelivered to Mahendran
Mahendran was aware of the order given, but did not receive official notice says AG
Aloysius and Palisena re-remanded

Perpetual Treasuries owner Arjun Aloysius and its Chief Executive Officer Kasun Palisena leaving court premises yesterday

– Pic by Pradeep Pathirana

By Chathuri Dissanayake

The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) will ensure that the fresh court notice issued to Former Central Bank Governor Arjun Mahindran to appear in court via currier service and Express Registered International Post is delivered, a top Attorney General’s department source said.

The Colombo Magistrate Court issued a fresh notice yesterday to Mahendran, a Singaporean citizen, to report to the CID before 8 March. The court was yesterday told that the notice issued to him by the same court was not delivered. Mahendran is currently residing in Singapore.

If the ex-Governor fails appear in court on 8 March, the Attorney General’s Department is set to obtain an arrest warrant and have it executed, the source told Daily FT.

The CID was able to obtain confirmation of Mahendran’s address via Interpol to ascertain he was a resident at the given address, as revealed to court. The team has also been able to establish that Mahendran was aware of the notice issued by court. However, no notice has been delivered to him, the AG’s Department said. The CID clarified to say that the Interpol service cannot be utilised to deliver court notices to individuals.

“The Interpol can only assist us with information, and in confirming that Mahendran lives at the address. This has been done,” a top CID source told Daily FT.

Dismissing claims that the CID has been unable to extradite Mahendran through the help of the Interpol, the officer said that the Department can only work through formal diplomatic channels to bring him to the country.

“The AG’s Department will have to write to the Justice Ministry, and through them to the Foreign Ministry to seek the assistance of our representatives there. The Foreign Ministry will have to reach out to their counterpart in that country and go through a similar judicial procedure followed here,” the CID official said.

The Government has to follow extradition procedure in such situations. However, since Mahendran is not a citizen of Sri Lanka, the process will be further complicated, the CID source explained.

“Even though the judiciary of the country issues an arrest warrant in a case like this, the Head of State has to approve the extradition,” he said.

In most extradition cases in the past, the Government had been able to work through mutual understanding and with assistance of the respective countries, but “it has its own risks,” he said.

Meanwhile Perpetual Treasuries owner Arjun Aloysius and its Chief Executive Officer Kasun Palisena were both re-remanded till 2 March by Fort Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne on Friday.