The Fort Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday ordered authorities to take steps to obtain an Interpol Red Notice against former Minister of Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa, in connection with the alleged misuse of funds.
Fort Magistrate Pasan Amarasena directed that a warrant be issued in Sinhala and English to help the process. He also ordered the Illegal Assets Unit of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to arrest Rajapaksa and produce him in court.
The orders followed submissions by the CID on its ongoing investigation.
The case concerns allegations that Rs. 7.8 million allocated to the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau in 2014 was used to supply 12,000 T-shirts for the Uva Provincial Council election, instead of the Bureau’s promotional activities.
The CID’s Illegal Assets Unit had earlier told the court that the alleged misuse caused a financial loss to the government.
