Open warrant issued against former ambassador Jaliya Wickramasuriya

A Sri Lankan court yesterday issued an open warrant for the arrest of former Sri Lankan Ambassador to the United States, Jaliya Wickramasuriya.

Colombo Fort Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne once again issued the arrest warrant as Wickramasuriya failed to appear in court when the case against him was taken up for hearing. He had failed to appear in court following his court-approved overseas visit to the United States.

The Magistrate also issued warrants for the arrest of Jaliya Wickremesuriya’s wife and a relative who signed for his bail application. The new warrants were issued after the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) informed court that they were no longer at their places of residence.

The former Ambassador, who was in remand custody after his arrest by the FCID on 18 November 2016, was granted permission in July 2017 to travel to the US for eight weeks for medical treatment.

Wickramasuriya was arrested for allegedly misusing state resources during the tenure of the previous United People’s Freedom Alliance-led government.

The former ambassador, a relative of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, has been accused of allegedly accepting a commission of $ 332,000 while serving as the Sri Lankan Ambassador in Washington. (Colombopage)