Counsel for Yoshitha Rajapaksa, the youngest son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, has asked the Homagama High Court to lift an overseas travel ban imposed in connection with a money laundering case.
Pre-trial proceedings were taken up on Wednesday before High Court Judge Krishanthi Amaratunga. Rajapaksa faces charges over the deposit of Rs. 17 million into a personal bank account, which authorities allege falls under money laundering provisions.
During the hearing, his counsel requested that the existing travel restriction be removed, citing an “urgent and essential” need for foreign travel. The judge responded that the ban could be relaxed under specific conditions — namely, if a close relative submitted their passport and stood surety for the trip.
The court adjourned the case until July 30 for further proceedings.
The matter is distinct from a separate money laundering case against Rajapaksa and his grandmother, Daisy Forrest, before the Colombo High Court, in which the Attorney General alleges that over Rs. 59 million was deposited into three fixed-deposit accounts. That case was postponed to June 10 pending amended indictments, after Rajapaksa earlier pleaded not guilty as the trial began.
