The Colombo High Court has scheduled a pre-trial conference for September 28 in a money laundering case involving Yoshitha Rajapaksa and his grandmother Daisy Forrest, with allegations centering on over Rs. 59 million in deposits with unclear origins.
The Colombo High Court has set September 28 as the date for a pre-trial conference in proceedings against Yoshitha Rajapaksa and his grandmother Daisy Forrest over alleged money laundering violations. High Court Judge Rashmi Singappuli made the determination during a recent hearing of the case.
According to prosecution allegations, deposits exceeding Rs. 59 million were placed into fixed deposit accounts held at three private banks between March 31, 2009 and December 12, 2013. The state contends that the source of these funds could not be adequately explained and that the manner in which money was deposited into the accounts constitutes a violation of Sri Lanka's Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The court scheduled the hearing for late September to accommodate pending Supreme Court proceedings. According to NewsFirst, the defendants have filed a revision application challenging the case before the Supreme Court, with that matter set for hearing on September 4. The prosecution requested that the High Court proceedings be deferred until after the Supreme Court determination, a request the judge granted.
The case represents one of several legal matters involving members of the Rajapaksa family in recent years.