Sri Lanka’s top legal offices are divided over whether former President Ranil Wickremesinghe should face prosecution for the alleged misappropriation of Rs. 16.6 million (approximately USD 26,000) in state funds during a visit to the United Kingdom. Two senior officials in the Attorney General’s Department have offered opposing views on whether the evidence gathered is sufficient to indict the former leader.
According to the Sunday Times, a Colombo-based weekly newspaper, Deputy Solicitor General Wasantha Perera, who had been supervising the investigation, has stepped down from his role due to differences of opinion. DSG Perera, who also led a parallel inquiry into Wickremesinghe’s secretary, Saman Ekanayake, concluded that the evidence is inadequate to bring charges against either individual. He argued that without proof of wrongdoing by the former president, Ekanayake could not be charged with aiding or abetting the alleged misuse.
Perera’s six-page report to Attorney General Parinda Ranasinghe highlighted procedural concerns, including the Criminal Investigation Department’s failure to obtain Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) from UK authorities before attempting to verify the authenticity of an invitation letter from the University of Wolverhampton. Perera noted that Wickremesinghe’s stopover in the UK, while traveling from Cuba to New York, was routine and unrelated to the alleged misappropriation.
In contrast, Additional Solicitor General Dileepa Peiris, the lead supervising officer of the probe, has advised that charges could be filed against the former president based on the available evidence. The CID investigators backing Peiris’s assessment have also suggested there is enough evidence to arrest Ekanayake, supported by an 11-page report prepared by State Counsel Samadari Piyasena.
The Sunday Times reports that the CID has yet to respond to a formal request from the Attorney General’s Department seeking further documentation from its UK investigation, leaving unresolved questions about the completeness of the case.
