The Colombo High Court has served indictment today (4 April) on Yoshitha Rajapaksa and his grandmother, Daisy Forrest Wickramasinghe, in connection with a money laundering case filed by the Attorney General.
The charges stem from investigations into a joint bank account held by Rajapaksa and Forrest, which reportedly contained Rs. 59 million. Authorities say Rajapaksa failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for the origin of the funds.
The case traces back to a broader probe launched by the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) during the ‘Good Governance’ government. In 2017, the FCID informed the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court that they had sought the Attorney General’s guidance on legal action concerning a 31.5-perch property in Sirimal Uyana, Ratmalana, estimated at Rs. 36 million. The house and land were allegedly purchased using funds linked to money laundering.
The property was registered in the name of Daisy Forrest—commonly known as “Daisy Achchi”—who was 89 years old at the time. She was arrested during the course of the investigation but was later released on bail.
In 2016, Colombo Additional Magistrate Augusta Atapattu issued an order barring the sale or transfer of the Ratmalana property, instructing the Nugegoda Land Registrar to enforce the restriction.
