Former Sri Lanka Navy Commander Admiral of the Fleet Wasantha Karannagoda and Yoshitha Rajapaksa, son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, were served indictments before the Colombo High Court over corruption allegations.
The indictments were filed by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC).
Following the serving of indictments, the Colombo High Court ordered that both accused be released on bail.
According to the indictments, Admiral of the Fleet Karannagoda while serving as Navy Commander, between September 1, 2006 and June 8, 2007, allegedly caused a loss to the State by unlawfully facilitating Yoshitha Rajapaksa’s participation in the Royal Navy Young Officers’ Course at the Britannia Royal Naval College in the United Kingdom.
The indictments further allege that Yoshitha Rajapaksa obtained an undue benefit as a result of the alleged misconduct. The case has been filed under eight counts against the two accused.The High Court indictments follow an extensive investigation by CIABOC, during which investigators presented a series of alleged irregularities before the Colombo Magistrate’s Court after Yoshitha Rajapaksa’s arrest in June.
According to facts presented in the Colombo Magistrate’s Court, the investigation originated from a complaint lodged with the CIABOC on June 25, 2016, alleging that public funds had been used to finance overseas naval training for Yoshitha Rajapaksa while depriving more qualified naval cadets of the opportunity.
CIABOC alleged that the Royal Navy Young Officers’ Course was a highly competitive programme traditionally reserved for the most outstanding cadet officers who had successfully completed nearly two years of naval training. Investigators claimed that Yoshitha Rajapaksa was nominated for the programme while he was still a civilian and before he had completed the formal process required to become a naval officer.
