Sri Lankan authorities Saturday (Jan 30, 2016) arrested a son of Mahinda Rajapaksa on money-laundering charges in what is seen as tightening the noose around the former President.
Yoshitha (27), a lieutenant in the Sri Lanka Navy, is charged with misappropriating the funds of a TV channel, Carlton Sports Network. Officials assert that the channel is owned by Rajapaksa family – a charge denied by the accused.
Yoshitha Rajapaksa and four directors of the Carlton Sports Network, including its chairman, Rohan Welivita, were questioned for six hours by sleuths of the Financial Crimes Investigations Division. Welivita is the acting spokesman of the former strongman.
All the five were later presented before a magistrate, who has remanded them to 14-day custody.
Yoshitha is the second member of Rajapaksa family to be arrested since Maithripala Sirisena took over the reins of the country with a clear mandate in January 2015.
A brother of the former president, Basil Rajapaksa, who was also the economic development minister, was arrested last April on charges of misappropriating public funds. Another brother, Gotabhaya, who was the defence minister during the final phase of the Eelam War, is also facing corruption charges. So is the former President’s eldest son, Namal Rajapaksa, who is also a lawmaker.
Basil Rajapaksa and his youngest brother, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, who served as the country’s defense secretary from 2005 to 2015, are also the subjects of corruption investigations.
Yoshitha’s promotion in the Navy is also subject of two more inquiries. The allegation is that he was promoted out of turn. He along with two relatives is under probe in connection with the death of a star Sri Lankan rugby player, Wasim Thajudeen.
On his part, the former President has rejected all the charges tossed at his family members. In fact, he appears very defiant. “Arrest my sons, my wife, and my brothers. I will not be moved. All these things will only strengthen the Rajapaksa brand,” he thundered at a rally in Matale on Saturday.
The Sirisena government does not appear to have had a formal breakthrough in its probe to nail the former strongman. Naturally critics have started accusing President Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe of dragging their feet.