UPFA MP Namal Rajapaksa said that if Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera can prove that his father or a member of the family has stashed away US $ 18 billion in overseas accounts, he will quit politics.

“If Min. Mangala Samaraweera can prove @PresRajapaksa, my Mother, brothers or I amassed a fortune of US$18 billion, I will quit politics” he said on his Twitter page.

This allegation was made by Minster Mangala Samaraweera during a media conference at UNP headquarters on Thursday.

Samaraweera claimed that foreign intelligence agencies had informed the government that former president Mahinda Rajapaksa and his family members had deposited US$18 billion in secret offshore accounts.

Releasing a statement earlier on Friday, former president Rajapaksa said that members of his family have no secret offshore accounts or illegal overseas investments in front companies.

He further said Foreign Minister Samaraweera, who made the statement, had covered himself by saying he did not know whether this information was right or wrong.