‘KP’ involved?

Woman Sea Tiger’s arrest bares global LTTE financial links – Police

by Sarath Malalasekara

The arrest at the Colombo Airport last week of a former woman ‘Sea Tiger’ has exposed new global Tiger financing networks with continued links in Sri Lanka. The husband of Bagrathy Murugesu, the ex-Sea Tiger woman Commander arrested at the BIA as she prepared to board a flight to Paris, lives in France and is identified as the main financial controller of the LTTE’s diaspora-based global finance networks.

The husband, Subramaniam Jeyganesh, is suspected to be still maintaining close ties with the former Tiger leader and key ‘banker’ Kumaran Pathmanathan alias ‘KP’ who was the LTTE’s main global funds coordinator. ‘KP’ currently lives in Sri Lanka following his arrest in Malaysia and controversial ‘rehabilitation’ by the previous regime despite many serious charges relating to terrorism arraigned against him.

The Terrorism Investigation Division (TID), which is currently questioning Murugesu found these international financial linkages, the sources said.

This has prompted a fresh probe into possible international LTTE financing networks that may still be linked with Colombo, police sources told the Sunday Observer.

Murugesu was arrested by Terrorism Investigations Division officers at the Bandaranaike International Airport as she attempted to leave the country for France.

She was produced by the TID before Colombo Additional Magistrate Aruni Artigala on Friday.

The Magistrate granted bail to her after lengthy submissions by her, Senior Counsel K.C. Thavarasa. She was enlarged on surety bail of Rs 200,000, had her passport impounded and was directed to appear before court on March 17. She has also been asked to report to the police station every fortnight.

Meanwhile, the court case against KP, arising out of a petition filed by the JVP, will be taken up by Court of Appeal this week.

At the last hearing, Justice Vijitha Malalagoda, asked for more information about KP’s global links.