Former First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa did not appear before the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) on Thursday, the date set in a summons served on her eight days ago. A lawyer acting for her instead submitted a letter telling investigators she is unable to attend.
The letter states that she has travelled to Singapore to undergo eye surgery, NewsFirst reported. It confirms she departed Colombo on 16 September and gives no date for her return.
What the inquiry concerns
The FCID is examining transactions connected to the Siriliya Saviya Foundation, which operated under Rajapaksa’s patronage. The specific matter behind the summons was disclosed on 17 September: Rs. 10 million obtained from a state-owned bank and deposited into a Siriliya Saviya account to buy a CT scanner for the Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children.
Investigators have not established that any CT scanner was bought with the money. They have also found that the equipment eventually presented to the hospital was a PET scanning machine donated by China, not a scanner purchased through the fundraising effort. The FCID has recorded a statement from Pradeep Kariyawasam, who chaired the state bank said to have provided the funds.
The sequence
The summons was served near the departure gate at Bandaranaike International Airport, minutes before Rajapaksa boarded her flight on 16 September. Her family said at the time that she was travelling for medical treatment and was not evading investigators.
A family member told the Daily Mirror she would return on 19 September and face the summons. She had not returned by 20 September, and the family declined to disclose her location or condition.
NewsFirst’s report does not say whether the FCID has accepted the letter, whether a new date has been fixed, or how long the medical treatment is expected to take. No other verified newsroom had filed on the letter at the time of writing.
