Fake IGP remanded

By Shehan Chamika Silva

A man, who was arrested by the CID for impersonating the IGP on facebook and deceiving women to take advantage of them, was remanded till September 15 by Colombo Chief Magistrate Gihan Pilapitiya.

On a complaint received from a woman, the CID conducted an investigation into the nefarious activities of the suspect and succeeded in arresting the culprit on his arrival at the airport.

According to one of the complaints received by the CID, the alleged suspect had deceived a woman after posing as the IGP on fb, where he had made certain sexually explicit requests of her.

Wimal Weerawansa's brother re- remanded

By Shehan Chamika Silva

Former Minister Wimal Weerawansa's brother Sarath Weerawansa, who was arrested by the FCID over misusing a government vehicle causing Rs.10.5 million financial lost to the Government, was ordered to be further remanded till September 21 by the Colombo Fort Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne.

The FCID told court that the Presidential Secretariat in 2009 had permitted to obtain 12 vehicles for the parliamentarians elected from the NFP.

The suspect, who was not a parliamentarian at that moment, had illegally obtained one vehicle of it and used it for his personal purposes until 2015 causing Rs. 8.9 million financial lost to the government.

Later in 2012, the suspect had been appointed as the private secretary to the then Minister of Housing and Construction and had obtained a fuel allowance of Rs. 1.6 million under the disguise that he would use his private vehicle for ministerial works while already using a vehicle given by the PS.

The FCID also said that There was a huge finacial misappropriation tajen place while using the fuel allowance book pertaining to the highly protected vehicle given to the Minister Weerawansa by the PS. The prosecution said using that fuel allowance book the suspect and few others had illegally obtained fuel for some other vehicles.

Thajudeen Murder: Carlton House interconnected with PS phone network

By Shehan Chamika Silva

Senior State Counsel Dilan Ratnayake informed Court that it had been revealed that Carlton House in Hambanthota had been included in the internal phone network connection of the Presidential Secretariat.

Earlier, the CID had informed court that there were phone calls from the Presidential Secretariat and Temple Trees to Narahenpita Police OIC Damien Perera on the day that Wasim Thajudeen was found dead.

The state counsel also said that, according to statements recorded from a few witnesses, the former chief JMO Ananda Samarasekara had dispatched body parts of Wasim Thajudeen from the refrigerator a few days prior to his retirement.

The CID had also informed court that it had begun an investigation concerning the missing body parts under the Public Property Act -- because the body parts had earlier been taken into the former JMO's custody as case productions and, therefore, they belonged to the state.

Considering the requests of the aggrieved party and the prosecution, Magistrate Nishantha Peiris ordered the Director General of the Colombo National Hospital to submit a comprehensive report on whether former SDIG Anura Senanayake had received treatments at the CNH or any other hospitals from 2003 to date (regarding his so- called illnesses). The magistrate also ordered the DG to submit a medical report on the present medical condition of the SDIG and the necessity for him to be treated continuously at a paying ward in the CNH.

The prosecution said that the suspects -- former SDIG Anura Senanayake and former Narahenpita Crimes OIC Sumith Perera -- had been charged under Sections 113 (Conspiracy) and 32 (Liability for act done by several persons in furtherance of acommon intention) of the Penal Code, and that according to the provision in Section 13 of the Bail Act, a person who had been charged with an offence punishable with death or with life imprisonment, shall not be released on bail except by a judge of the High Court.

They had been arrested by the CID and charged under Sections 113 (Conspiracy) and 32 (Liability for act done by several persons in furtherance of a common intention) of the Penal Code in connection with the murder of ruggerite Wasim Thajudeen.

Considering that the suspects had already filed revision bail applications in the High Court, the magistrate re-remanded the suspects till September 21.

The former SDIG and the former Crimes OIC have also been charged with causing the disappearance of evidence, fabricating false evidence, using it to shield the offender and conspiring under Clauses of 189,198 and 296 of the Penal Code.

Statement recorded from Neville Wanniarachchi over money laundering inquiry

By Shehan Chamika Silva

The CID told court that it had recorded statements from 40 individuals including chief security officer of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa Neville Wanniarachchi over the inquiry conducted into the security officers under the Money Laundering Act.

Inspector Dinesh Silva, the OIC of Finance Crimes Unit of CID also informed court that the transaction and other bank details pertaining to Captain Tissa Wimalasena, Damith Gomin Ranasinghe and Neville Wanniarachchi were not yet received from the commercial banks and financial institutes.

The prosecution also told Colombo Chief Magistrate that based on the investigation conducted so far there were no any obvious charges being found into the inquiry but the investigations are underway over the incident.

The CID had initiated investigations into this matter consequent to a complaint made by the Anti-corruption Secretariat.

Committee rules out post mortem for Sobitha Thera

By Shehan Chamika Silva

A special panel of doctors from the Colombo National Hospital (CNH), who conducted an inquiry into the demise of Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera yesterday informed court that the cause of death given by the Singaporean hospital authorities was in keeping with the documented clinical features and sequences of events that were already known and therefore a need does not arise to request for an inquest or post mortem report.

Filing their report into the investigation into the death of the Thera, the committee, which included Director General of National Hospital, Anil Jasinghe and five others, said that they were satisfied about the treatment given to the late Thera and that the committee could not find any form of negligence on the part of the hospital in question. The Committee also mentioned that there was no evidence to suggest that any part of the records of the late Thera had gone missing.

After scrutinizing all the medical documents received from the Colombo National Hospital, Neville Fernando Teaching Hospital and the Central Hospital, the committee suggested that due to the fact that all the documented clinical features were in keeping with the cause of death given by the Singaporean authorities, their committee too agreed with that diagnosis.

Earlier, the Court directed Dr. Jasinghe to appoint a special panel of doctors to look into the death of Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera following a request made by the CID on a complaint made to them by Ven. Uduwe Dhammaloka Thera.

The special panel comprised of Dr Anil Jasinghe (president of the panel), Dr Ajith Thennakoon, Dr Kumudini Ranathunge, Dr Nimali Fernando and Dr Iresh Wijemanne.

Sarana to appear in court over 2 non-declaration of assets charges

By Shehan Chamika Silva

Former Development Board (DLB) Chairman Sarana Goonawardane was noticed to appear in court on October 26 by the Colombo Chief Magistrate over a case filed against him for not declaring his assets in 2005 and 2007.

The Bribery commission yesterday filed two cases against the suspect which comes under the Non Declaration of Assets Act.

The suspect was still facing nine other cases as well filed by the Bribery Commission over corruption charges that allegedly occurred during the time he was the Chairman of the same institution.

B'desh Central Bank hacking: CID reveals suspicious foreign number

By Shehan Chamika Silva

The CID told court that it had initiated a broad investigation to one foreign phone number revealed during the inquiry conducted into the alleged $20 million transfer by hacking the Bangladesh Central Bank.

The CID filing a report informed court that according to the information revealed from the alleged individual, Priyankara Jayadewa, who had introduced a Japan national, ‘Thadashi Sasaki’ to the Shalika Foundation directors and advised the foundation to start a bank account in order to send funds from foreign countries for charity purposes, the suspicious foreign number was recovered.

Earlier, the CID said it had recorded five statements from the alleged directors of the Shalika Foundation, Pradeep Rohitha Dumpkin (Husband of Mrs. Shalika Perera), Don. Miyurin Ranasinghe, Nishantha Nalaka, Sanjeewa Bandara and Shirani Dammika Fernando.

And the CID told court that the report of Moratuwa University over alleged productions of CPU and mobile phones that were recovered by the CID in the possession of two individuals, W.M.P. Jayadewa and M.P. Niluka Lakshmi had not been received yet.

The CID also said in the 'B' Report that the Japanese national Thadasi Sasaki, whose name had also come across in the inquiry, was in Sri Lanka between July 9 to August 26, 2014.

According to the CID officials, the alleged directors of the Shalika Foundation had opened a bank account on January 26, 2016 in a private bank in Bambalapitiya.

The account had been received with $19,999,977.50 amount of money through the Swift Messaging system from Bangladesh on February 04, 2016 on the purpose of a Rural Electrification upgradation project.

However, the Remittance Department in the Bank had detected errors of the transfer which was made as an inward remittance and informed Bangladesh Central Bank to verify the transaction.

Later, Bangladesh confirmed a robbery happened at the Central Bank in Bangladesh and further proceedings of the transaction were stopped.

The name of the account holder in Swift Message mis-spelled as "fandation", prompting a routing bank, Deutsche Bank, to seek clarification from the Bangladesh Central Bank, which stopped the transaction.

However, according to the bank officials, statements given to the CID on few occasions, after the alleged transfer of money was made, Jayadewa, Shalika Perera and several others had attempted to withdraw the funds.

Later, on February 12, alleged Directors of Shalika Foundation had informed the bank officials to send the amount of money to the one who sent the funds as it was not the amount of money they were supposed to receive from foreign countries.

Earlier, the court imposed a travel ban on the six directors of the Shalika Foundation in connection with the inquiry.

The robbery had occurred when some hackers had invaded the Bangladesh Central Bank data base and defrauded $81 million. Four requests to transfer a total of about $81 million to the Philippines went through, but a fifth, for $20 million, to a Sri Lankan non-profit organisation was held up because the hackers mis-spelled the name of the NGO, Shalika Foundation.

The complaint was lodged by the Sri Lanka Central Bank's Financial Investigation Unit in the CID on March 11 over the alleged transaction.

Suspect who impersonated IGP on FB remanded

By Shehan Chamika Silva

A man, who was arrested by the CID over impersonating the IGP on Facebook deceiving women to obtain various unlawful advantages, was remanded till September 8 by Colombo additional Magistrate Nishantha Peiris.

On a complaint received from a woman, the CID conducted an investigation to apprehend the suspect and arrested at BIA on arrival to the country.

According to the complainant the alleged suspect, Rajitha Madushan Weerasekara, had deceived her impersonating as IGP on FB and demanded to engage a sexual relationship with him improperly.

Nissanka Senadipathi released on bail

By Shehan Chamika Silva

Avant Garde Maritime Security Limited chairman, Nissanka Senadhipathi, and its director general, Major General Palitha Fernando, who were arrested by the Bribery Commission yesterday were released on bail by Colombo Chief Magistrate Gihan Pilapitiya last evening.

Senadhipathi was taken into custody along with Maj. Gen. Fernando when they went to present themselves to the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption yesterday evening to give a statement over the on-going probe related to Avant Garde Maritime Security Limited.

The two who were produced before Colombo Chief Magistrate Gihan Pilapitiya at his residence were released on cash bail of Rs.250, 000 each with two sureties of Rs.10 million each by the magistrate.

Johnstan's five cases on non-assets declaration fixed for trial

By Shehan Chamika Silva

Five cases filed against former Minister Johnston Fernando over not declaring his assets from 2010 to 2014 was yesterday fixed for January 10, 2017 when they came up before Colombo Chief Magistrate Gihan Pilapitiya.

The Bribery Commission had earlier filed the cases over committing an offence for not revealing his assets for five consecutive years.

He was however allowed to travel abroad temporarily, although the ban imposed on him still applies as the cases were still being heard.