Businessman files petition to stall arrest by FCID

A business tycoon who was involved in the election campaign of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa has filed a rights petition saying he fears his imminent arrest by implicating him in a financial crime.

Petitioner Sudath Rohan Lokumudali cited Fort Police OIC, Crimes Division OIC, Colombo Crimes Division Director, its OIC, FCID Director, Special Investigations Unit (SIU) Director, DIG Gamini Mathurata, IGP, his former driver D.M. Sarath Dissanayake and the Attorney General as respondents.

He states that his business colleague Yoga Perera was looking for a vehicle permit issued to a parliamentarian to purchase and obtained Rs.10 million as advance payment on April 8 and went to the CID keeping his driver in his vehicle to record a statement in relation to a land purchased by him.

The petitioner said when he returned to his vehicle, neither his driver nor the money was inside the vehicle and lodged a complaint against his driver accusing him having robbed his money.

The petitioner said the CCD arrested the driver after a month and released him on police bail.

He said during the investigation he was informed by the CCD that his driver had made a complaint against him at the FCID alleging that the driver was used by Gamini Senarath who is the Chief of Staff of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa to encash cheques worth of Rs.12,000 million on January 1, 2015.

The petitioner said his former driver had falsely implicated him

According to the false and malicious complaint against him, the SUI has reported him to the Colombo Magistrate’s Court and obtained an order restraining him from travelling overseas without Court permission

with the connivance of the CCD Officers.

Hestatesthataccordingtothefalseand maliciouscomplaintagainsthim,thesuihas reportedhimtothecolombomagistrate’s Courtandobtainedanorderrestraining himfromtravellingoverseaswithoutcourt permission and that he was served with a notice BYASP D.a.r.bandara of SUI informing him of the court order stating that he was directly or indirectly involved in a financial crime.

The petitioner states the total turnover from the business deals pertaining to the election campaign was around Rs.190 million and the payments were received mainly in cash and some of the Bank cheques issued to him by the campaign office of Mr. Rajapaksa carried more than the value of the invoices and therefore after en-cashing them, he or his former driver returned the balance to Mr. Rajapaksa’s campaign managers.