Court told Yoshitha Rajapaksa received Rs 5.15 million in Navy salary, allowances
COLOMBO – Yoshitha Rajapaksa, son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, received a total of Rs 5.15 million in salary and allowances during his 10 years of service in the Sri Lanka Navy, the Colombo High Court was told on Thursday (15).
This was revealed when further evidence was recorded in the money laundering case against Yoshitha Rajapaksa under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, before High Court Judge Udesh Ranatunga on Thursday.
Navy Captain Nuwan Thushara Arandala, testifying as a prosecution witness, told the court that Rajapaksa served in the Navy from December 14, 2006, to February 28, 2016, and received a total of Rs 5,150,626 in salary and allowances during that period.
He said Rajapaksa’s monthly salary, inclusive of allowances, was Rs 16,390 after a deduction of Rs 110.
Earlier, Navy Commodore Dhammika Priyadarshana Wickramaarachchi, testifying that Rajapaksa had served as a lieutenant until his service was terminated on February 28, 2016, told the court that a request had been made through former Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda to the then Defence Secretary for financial assistance for Rajapaksa to attend a training program for junior naval officers in the United Kingdom.
According to the witness, a document dated May 18, 2004, sought £4,174.80 for food and accommodation and Rs 20,362 for the course.
Another Navy officer, Devinda Udayakumara, testified that Rajapaksa had submitted declarations of assets and liabilities to the Navy for the period from March 31, 2009, to March 31, 2015.
Meanwhile, Kanishka Gamini, a junior executive officer of the National Savings Bank (NSB), told the court that Rajapaksa had opened a fixed deposit account on November 10, 2003, with an initial deposit of Rs 72,470.03. The account balance, including interest, stood at Rs 489,471.70, she said.
Defence President’s Counsel Sampath Mendis objected to the prosecution seeking to mark a document as evidence, arguing that it had neither been produced during the investigation nor filed in court with the indictment.
Gamini subsequently testified that a savings account opened by Rajapaksa at the NSB on December 30, 2006, had received a series of deposits, with no withdrawals made until March 2016. The first withdrawal from the account was recorded on March 2, 2016, he said.
Later, Senarath Bandara, a clerk at the Nugegoda Magistrate’s Court, testified on behalf of the court registrar regarding the original case record relating to the assets of Daisy Forrest, which had been heard before the Nugegoda Magistrate’s Court.
–ENCL
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