Sugeeshwara Lenin Bandara, who served as personal secretary to former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, has been further remanded until July 30 over allegations of criminal misappropriation and misuse of funds allocated under the Presidential Expenditure Head, NewsFirst reported.
The order was issued by Colombo Fort Magistrate Pasan Amarasena when the case was taken up before the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court.
Bandara was previously taken into custody in connection with the investigation, which examines how funds under the presidential expenditure allocation were handled during Rajapaksa’s tenure. The continued remand keeps him in custody as investigators pursue the case.
The proceedings form part of a wider set of inquiries into the financial affairs of the former administration, several of which have resulted in the detention or questioning of officials who held senior positions during Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s presidency.
The case is scheduled to be taken up again on July 30, when the court is expected to review the status of the investigation.
Update (July 30): Bandara was produced before the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court on Thursday morning and has been further remanded until August 12 after the court rejected his bail applications, Hiru News reported. Hiru identified him as the leader of the New Janatha Front.
Ada Derana set out a fuller account of the allegations against him. It reported that Bandara was arrested in Colpetty on June 18 over allegations that he drew salaries from two government institutions and thereby misappropriated state funds. Investigations found that he had served as private secretary to former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2022 while simultaneously holding the post of Project Director at the Presidential Secretariat.
Ada Derana also reported that the Anti-Corruption Committee of the Special Presidential Commission of Inquiry had lodged a complaint with the Central Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) over an alleged financial irregularity under the President’s Expenditure Head. That framing places the double-salary allegation at the centre of the case, where NewsFirst’s earlier report described the matter more broadly as misuse of funds allocated under the Presidential Expenditure Head.
