The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) has summoned Yoshitha Rajapaksa for questioning on Tuesday, June 16, over his participation in a Royal Navy training programme in the United Kingdom that was allegedly obtained outside established procedures.
Yoshitha — son of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa — served as a Lieutenant in the Sri Lanka Navy after enlisting on December 14, 2006. The Commission is expected to record statements in relation to several complaints received regarding his recruitment and subsequent service in the Navy, The Island reported.
According to sources cited by the paper, the investigation focuses on allegations concerning the educational qualifications considered at the time of his enlistment, as well as foreign training opportunities he is said to have received while in service which are suspected to have been granted in violation of due process. CIABOC has launched the inquiry under the provisions of the Anti-Corruption Act, officials said.
The summons opens a new accountability track distinct from Yoshitha’s existing Colombo High Court money-laundering case, where the trial commencement was set for July 16 after Daisy Forrest Holdings was released and the trial allowed to proceed in May. The Bribery Commission’s recruitment-and-foreign-training inquiry adds a third strand alongside the financial-fraud trial and the March travel ban imposed by the Homagama Magistrate over a Rs. 17 million case.
CIABOC’s expanding probe against the former president’s son arrives amid a broader sweep of Rajapaksa-era accountability cases the Commission is currently pursuing, including former president Mahinda Rajapaksa’s appearance at the Bribery Commission over the Airbus deal and follow-on inquiries into family-network procurement decisions.
Sources: The Island — CIABOC summons Yoshitha over his participation in British Navy training programme.
Update — June 16: Yoshitha skips summons, re-summoned for June 17
Yoshitha Rajapaksa informed CIABOC on Tuesday that he was unable to appear before the Bribery Commission on the date originally set for his questioning over the Royal Navy training matter, NewsFirst reported. The Commission has re-summoned him for Wednesday, June 17. Former Navy Commander Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda, who was also summoned for the same day’s proceedings, reportedly told CIABOC he had not received the official letter and has been asked to appear next week.
Investigations have revealed fresh detail of the alleged irregularities. In September 2006, then Navy Commander Admiral Karannagoda wrote to the British Royal Naval College inquiring whether Yoshitha could be admitted; the academy confirmed the request could be accommodated. CIABOC’s inquiry indicates that recruitment qualifications were amended before advertisements were published — Yoshitha had studied in the Arts stream — and that a discrepancy regarding O/L qualification requirements also arose and was subsequently amended. After enlisting, Yoshitha departed for the UK in January 2007 and spent over a year and a half at the British Royal Naval College, with all expenses fully covered by state funds.
Source: NewsFirst — Yoshitha Rajapaksa Informs Inability to Appear Before Bribery Commission, June 16.
