AG’s position sought in case against Ranil Wickremesinghe over alleged misuse of state funds
COLOMBO – The Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday (8) fixed Sept. 30 to determine the Attorney General’s position on possible legal action against former President Ranil Wickremesinghe and former Presidential Secretary Saman Ekanayake over allegations of misusing state funds.
The case was taken up before Colombo Fort Magistrate Pasan Amaraseena, where the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) informed court that investigations had been completed and the case files had been forwarded to the Attorney General for legal advice.
Senior State Counsel Samadari Piyasena, appearing for the prosecution, requested that the matter be fixed for the Attorney General’s observations.
Appearing for Wickremesinghe, President’s Counsel Anuja Premaratna challenged part of the prosecution’s case, telling court that CID investigators had claimed nearly half of the expenditure under investigation related to vehicles.
Premaratna submitted that the vehicles in question had been provided by the British government and presented documents outlining the relevant procedures followed by the United Kingdom authorities. He requested that the investigation also take those documents into consideration.
After considering the submissions, Magistrate Amaraseena ordered the case to be recalled on September 30 and directed the prosecution to inform court of the Attorney General’s position on that date.
The case relates to allegations that Wickremesinghe misused more than Rs 16.6 million in public funds to finance a private visit to the United Kingdom in 2023 to attend his wife’s graduation ceremony. Former Presidential Secretary Saman Ekanayake is also under investigation in connection with the alleged misuse of state funds.
-ENCL
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