Presidential election campaign transactions: Businessmen laments imminent arrest

Friday, 17 June 2016 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By S.S. Selvanayagam

A business tycoon who had business transactions relating to the presidential election campaign of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa filed a rights petition lamenting his imminent arrest by implicating him with financial crime.

Petitioner Sudath Rohan Lokumudali cited Fort Police Station OIC, its Crime Division OIC, Colombo Crimes Division Director, its OIC, Director of Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID), Director of Special Investigations Unit (SIU), DIG Gamini Mathurata, IGP, his former driver D.M. Sarath Dissanayake and the Attorney General as Respondents.

He states his business colleague Yoga Perera was looking for a vehicle permit issued to a Parliamentarian to purchase and he got Rs. 10 million as an advance payment on 8 April and went to the CID keeping his driver in his vehicle to record a statement in relation to a land purchased by him.

He states that when he returned to his vehicle, he found neither his driver nor the said parcel of money inside the vehicle. He states he lodged a complaint against his driver for theft. After a month, the CCD arrested the evading driver and released him on Police bail, he states.

He states during the investigation of the theft, at one point he was informed by the CCD that his driver had made a complaint against him at the FCID alleging that he (the driver) was used by Gamini Senarath who is the Chief of Staff of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa to en-cash cheques worth Rs. 12,000 million on 7 January 2015.

He alleges his former driver falsely implicated him in connivance with the officers of the CCD.

Petitioner states according to the false and malicious complaint against him, the SUI has reported to the Colombo Magistrate’s Court and obtained an order restraining him from traveling overseas without the permission of the Court and that he was served with a notice by ASP D.A.R. Bandara of SUI informing him of the Court order stating that he was directly or indirectly having a connection to a financial crime.

He states the total turnover from the business deals pertaining to the said election campaign was around Rs. 190 million and the payments were received mainly in cash and some of the bank cheques issued to him by the campaign office of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa carried more than the value of the invoices and therefore after en-cashing them, he or his former driver returned the balance to the Managers of former President Rajapaksa.

He complains of the alleged failure to investigate and deal with his complaint of theft and the release of his former driver on Police bail after having evaded the Police for a month on the allegation of theft.

He also complains of his alleged false implication for a crime which he claims he had no involvement in whatsoever.