Court rejects Gotabaya’s request to return money
Colombo Fort Magistrate Thilina Gamage today rejected a request to return the nearly Rs. 20 million cash that was found at the President’s Official residence during a mass protest in 2022, to former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Lankadeepa reported.
The former President’s lawyer had requested the magistrate to hand over the cash to his client which was found by anti-government protesters during mass protests in July last year.
Rejecting the request, Colombo Fort Magistrate Thilina Gamage revealed that it was the responsibility of the court to conduct an inquiry pertaining to the sum of cash prior to issuing an order.
He further said that there were also possibilities to conduct investigations pertaining to the sum of money under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and the Bribery Act, and hence it cannot be released.
The magistrate added that as investigations are still underway pertaining to the cash and no other person has claimed ownership, it cannot be released.
Following mass protests in July 2022, several anti-government protesters stormed the President’s Official residence in Fort and found nearly Rs. 17.5 million in cash.
The cash was thereafter, counted and handed over to officers of the Fort Police Station by the protesters. The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) is conducting investigations into the said sum of money.
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