A son of former Colombo mayor Mohamed Muzammil has been granted bail over an alleged fraud in which Rs 5.9 million was taken on a promise to supply a jeep that was never delivered. Umair Muzammil was released on two bonds of Rs 2.5 million each.
Hiru News reported the order at 4.17 p.m. Colombo time on Wednesday. He had been arrested by the Fraud Investigation Bureau, and Colombo Additional Magistrate Lahiru Silva ordered his release.
What the Bureau told the court
Investigators said the suspect took Rs 5.9 million from the complainant on an undertaking to supply a jeep, and misappropriated it.
The complainant and the suspect subsequently met the vehicle’s seller, the Bureau said, but the suspect neither obtained the vehicle for the complainant nor returned the money.
In statements to the court the suspect said he had returned the money to the complainant. Investigating officers told the court there is no evidence of any such repayment.
Counsel for the aggrieved party asked the court to investigate what the suspect did with the Rs 5.9 million. Counsel for the suspect asked that he be released on bail.
The case is to be recalled on 20 January.
Not reported
The filing does not say when the alleged fraud took place, when the arrest was made, or how long the suspect had been in custody before Wednesday’s order. It does not say what charges have been or will be filed, or whether any conditions beyond the bonds — such as a travel ban or a direction not to contact witnesses — were imposed.
It does not identify the complainant or the vehicle seller, give the make or model of the jeep, or say whether the vehicle existed. It does not say whether the Bureau is tracing the money, or whether any of it has been recovered.
It gives no further identification of the father beyond the description “former mayor of the Colombo Municipal Council”, and does not say whether he has any connection to the transaction. Nothing in the filing suggests he does, and none is implied here.
Single source. The Daily Mirror’s breaking-news listing and NewsFirst’s rail had not carried this case at the time of writing, and Ada Derana has returned an HTTP 403 block to this desk for some 48 consecutive days. The spelling of the father’s name follows Hiru’s rendering.