The Colombo High Court on Thursday set May 14 as the date for its ruling on preliminary objections raised in the Prevention of Money Laundering Act case against Yoshitha Rajapaksa, a son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The case was taken up before High Court Judge Udesh Ranatunga.
President’s Counsel Sampath Mendis, appearing for Yoshitha Rajapaksa, told the court that the first charge of “conspiracy” could no longer be maintained against his client, citing the release from the case of his grandmother Daisy Forrest, who had been named as a defendant on that charge. The defence submitted preliminary objections arguing that the conspiracy charge against Yoshitha cannot proceed and tendered supporting documents.
Deputy Solicitor General Janaka Bandara, appearing for the prosecution, said Forrest had been released due to her deteriorating health condition and that the circumstances surrounding her release were unrelated to the objections raised by the defence. He sought time to present the Attorney General’s position.
The judge ordered the case to be called on May 11 for the Attorney General’s submissions and on May 12 for the defence to respond, with the ruling to be delivered on May 14, 2026.
The proceeding is separate from the parallel money-laundering matter previously postponed to June 10 pending amended indictments. The Attorney General had earlier filed three charges under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, alleging that over Rs. 59 million believed to be illegally earned was deposited into three fixed-deposit accounts at private banks between March 2009 and December 2013.
