The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) has recorded a statement from MP Namal Rajapaksa, who is in remand custody, as part of its investigation into an alleged Rs. 70 million bribe linked to the Krrish development project.
CIABOC said the investigation concerned an allegation that former Krrish director Janaki Siriwardena paid Rajapaksa the money on three occasions in exchange for help securing land owned by the Urban Development Authority in Colombo Fort and expediting the necessary approvals.
CIABOC arrested Siriwardena on 24 September. After she was produced before the Colombo Magistrate’s Court, she was remanded until 6 October. At that hearing, the magistrate granted CIABOC permission to obtain a statement from Rajapaksa. Commission officers visited the Colombo Remand Prison on the morning of 25 September and recorded his statement, according to reports.
The land at the centre of the investigation is at 114 Chatham Street, Colombo Fort. Krrish Transworks (Pvt) Ltd obtained it from the Urban Development Authority on a 99-year lease for a proposed three-tower development. The company was registered in 2012, and payments for the lease were made in stages between 2013 and 2016. Its directors at registration were Indian investor Amit Katyal and Geethanjali Janaki de Soysa Siriwardena. The company was renamed The One Transworks Square (Pvt) Ltd on 6 November 2017.
On 26 December 2015, Wasantha Samarasinghe, then convenor of Voice Against Corruption, lodged a complaint with the Anti-Corruption Committee alleging major financial irregularities in the lease of the land to Krrish. Acting on instructions from the then Inspector General of Police, the Financial Crimes Investigation Division opened an investigation under reference IGP/PA/DIG/FCID/5152/15.
