YOSHITHA REMANDED TILL FEB 11

Arrested under Money Laundering Act:

Questioned on financial irregularities at CSN:

Rohan Welivita and Nishantha Ranatunga also arrested:

All produced before Kaduwela Magistrate:

by Dhaneshi Yatawara

Lieutenant Yoshitha Rajapaksa, the second son of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, arrested by the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) yesterday and produced before Kaduwela Magistrate Dhammika Hemapala, was remanded till February 11, 2016.

He was arrested under the Money Laundering Act in connection with financial irregularities in the popular sports channel, Carlton Sports Network (CSN).

Former CSN Chairman and current media coordinator of Mahinda Rajapaksa , Rohan Welivita, and former CEO of CSN and secretary Sri Lanka Cricket, Nishantha Ranatunga, arrested along with Rajapaksa, were also produced before the Kaduwela Magistrate and remanded till February 11. They were also arrested under the Money Laundering Act.

All were later taken to the Welikada remand prison in a prison bus. Yoshitha Rajapaksa was arrested after he recorded a lengthy statement at the Navy Headquarters yesterday morning. Welivita, who was taken from his Kirulapone residence in the morning by the FCID officials, was arrested, also after hours of questioning.

Two other officials of the CSN network, Kavishan Dissanayake and A.R. Fernando were also grilled by the FCID along with Welivita.

Navy Media Spokesman, Captain Akram Alavi, told the Sunday Observer, FCID officials arrived at the Navy Headquarters at about 9.30 a.m. to record a statement from Yoshitha Rajapaksa that lasted till about 4.00 p.m. subsequent to which he was arrested.

Close family members of Yoshitha, including his parents, former President and First Lady, Mahinda and Shiranthi Rajapaksa, and his uncles, former Minister Basil and former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa were present at the Kaduwela Magistrate’s Court premises, when he was presented before the Magistrate.

A large group of political supporters were also seen outside the court premises.

Yoshitha, a junior Naval Officer joined the Sri Lanka Navy during the presidency of his father, Mahinda Rajapaksa. He has also had stakes in the CSN venture as a business partner.

The arrests were made in connection with serious protocol and financial irregularities. Many of the CSN officials have been summoned by the FCID and their statements recorded in the past few months.

In November last year, FCID officials raided the CSN office in Battaramulla to inquire into an irregularity in the awarding of broadcasting rights to the CSN, in violation of standard tender procedures.

Police Spokesman ASP Ruwan Gunasekara has already gone on record that the raid was carried out following a court order issued by the Kaduwela Magistrate’s Court. Following the search, several documents, computer hard disk drives and desktop computers were confiscated and taken into FCID custody for further investigations.

The FCID initiated the investigation based on a public complaint with regard to a blatant violation of tender procedures in the awarding of broadcasting rights to CSN without allowing for competitive bidding.

Following the commencement of FCID investigations, the Ministry of Sports appointed a three-member committee to investigate alleged corruption within the Ministry.