Former Deputy Minister Sarath Kumara Gunaratne arrested for allegedly misappropriating Rs.12 million of public funds allocated for the Negombo Lagoon Development Project, was yesterday ordered to be remanded till January 9 by Colombo Chief Magistrate Lal Bandara.
The former Fisheries Deputy Minister was arrested by the CID for the alleged misappropriation of Rs. 12 million belonging to Ceylon Fisheries Harbour Corporation (CFHC) during the last Presidential election.
Defence Counsel Sampath Mendis appearing for the suspect, informed Court that there is no summary of evidence against the suspect alleging that he had committed anything wrong and moved Court that his client be released on bail as he is suffering from diabetes.
The Chief Magistrate announced that he would make an appropriate order after perusing the documents on the next hearing date.
At a previous occasion, CFHC former chairman Upali Liyanage, CFHC General Manager Piyal Abeysekara, Deputy General Manager Chandana Palpita and Lakmuni Munidasa were ordered to be released on bail regarding this incident. In this case, the CID had named six individuals including Gunaratne as the suspects following the instructions of Attorney General. The Special Presidential Investigation Commission had recommended that the Attorney General’s advise be sought to institute legal action against the persons responsible for the alleged financial frauds.
The Attorney General is expecting to file indictments against the suspects in the High Court.