The Colombo Permanent Trial-at-Bar on Monday (13) ordered the full trial against former Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal over the controversial Greek sovereign bonds investment to commence on July 20, after dismissing all preliminary objections raised by the defence.
The indictment alleges that the investment in high-risk Greek government bonds caused a loss of more than Rs. 1.84 billion (over Rs. 184 million) to the State.
The unanimous ruling was delivered by the three-member Trial-at-Bar bench comprising Judges Manoj Thalgodapitiya, Udesh Ranatunga, and Buddhika C. Ragala.
Cabraal is accused of causing a loss of Rs. 1,843,267,595.60 to the Government by investing State funds in Greek sovereign bonds between March 11, 2011 and November 19, 2012, despite the country’s severe economic crisis at the time.
The defence argued that the Trial-at-Bar, established under the Judicature (Amendment) Act No. 9 of 2018, lacked jurisdiction to hear offences allegedly committed before the law came into force. Counsel further contended that retrospective application of the law was impermissible without a clear legislative intention and cited previous legal precedents in support of the argument.
The defence also maintained that proceedings before the Trial-at-Bar deprived the accused of certain legal rights available in ordinary High Court proceedings, including appeal rights, and argued that the change constituted a substantive rather than merely procedural change in the law.
In addition, the defence submitted that the charges substantially overlapped with two earlier High Court cases filed under the Bribery Act and that initiating fresh proceedings amounted to an unlawful retrial. It further argued that any challenge to the indictment under Section 161 of the Anti-Corruption Act should be made before the Supreme Court rather than the High Court.
Responding on behalf of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC), Assistant Director (Legal) Anusha Sambandapperuma argued that Parliament had the constitutional authority under Article 75 to enact laws with retrospective effect where appropriate.
She further submitted that the decision by the Director General of CIABOC to file the case before the Trial-at-Bar was purely administrative and that the amendment only changed the forum in which the case was heard, without affecting any substantive legal rights of the accused.
The prosecution also noted that an appeal from a Trial-at-Bar judgment lies before a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court, ensuring that the accused’s right of appeal remained protected.
After considering the submissions of both parties, the court held that the 2018 amendment introduced only a procedural change and did not remove or diminish any substantive rights of the accused. It ruled that the defence’s preliminary objections had no legal basis and formally dismissed them.
The prosecution has listed 38 witnesses, including Foreign Affairs Minister Vijitha Herath and former MP Sujeewa Senasinghe.
The prosecution is being led by Assistant Director (Legal) Anusha Sambandapperuma, together with State Counsel Kamani de Silva, Gajalakshmi Sivasubramaniam, and Gaya Rajapaksha.
President’s Counsel Sampath Mendis appears for Cabraal, instructed by counsel Ornella Silva, Amila Dissanayake, Nishshanka Peiris, and Muditha Lokuhetty.
