Colombo Fort Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne today refused to grant a warrant for former Ambassador to Russia Udayanga Weratunge and said that the FCID must hand over the notice through the Foreign Ministry.

The FCID had sought an arrest warrant against Weeratunga for the alleged financial misconduct during the purchase of MiG aircrafts to the Sri Lanka Air Force.

The FCID had earlier told court that notice was handed over to his address in Sri Lanka. However, since he was out of the country, he was sent the notice through email, the FCID had said.

However, the Magistrate said that sending the notice through email is not adequate under the Criminal Procedure Code and that Weeratunga must be notified through Foreign Ministry assistance.

Meanwhile, the Magistrate ordered the SLAF Legal Director to appear in court on September 26 to explain the disappearance of documents regarding the transaction.