Court orders Interpol Red Notice for Basil Rajapaksa

The Fort Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday (14) ordered authorities to take necessary steps to obtain an INTERPOL Red Notice against former Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa over the alleged misuse of Rs. 7.8 million belonging to the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau during the 2014 Uva Provincial Council election.

Fort Magistrate Pasan Amarasena directed that an arrest warrant be issued in both Sinhala and English to facilitate the process of obtaining the Red Notice through INTERPOL.

The Magistrate also ordered the Illegal Assets Unit of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to arrest Rajapaksa and produce him before court.

The orders were issued following submissions by the CID in connection with its ongoing investigation into the alleged financial irregularities.

According to the CID’s Illegal Assets Unit, Rs. 7.8 million allocated to the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau in 2014 had allegedly not been used for the bureau’s promotional activities. Instead, the money had allegedly been used to provide 12,000 T-shirts during the Uva Provincial Council election campaign.

The CID informed court that the alleged diversion of funds had caused a financial loss to the government.

The investigation centres on the alleged use of public funds for purposes other than those for which they had been allocated. The latest court orders are intended to facilitate Rajapaksa’s arrest and the process of seeking international assistance through INTERPOL.