Yoshitha Rajapaksa granted bail

Yoshitha Rajapaksa was released on bail by the Colombo Magistrate’s Court today (January 27).

He is the second son of former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Rajapaksa was granted bail by Additional Magistrate Manjula Ratnayake, with two sureties of Rs. 50 million each, when he was produced before the court. In addition to the bail, the Magistrate imposed a travel ban on Yoshitha Rajapaksa and ordered that the Immigration and Emigration Controller be notified accordingly.

Meanwhile, Rajapaksa was ordered to report to the Sri Lanka Police Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) on the last Sunday of every month. He was also prohibited from attempting to influence any witnesses in the case.

While delivering the decision, the Additional Magistrate stated that the suspect should be released on bail in accordance with the provisions of the Bail Act, as the prosecution had failed to present sufficient and satisfactory evidence to justify further remand.

Rajapaksa was arrested on January 25, 2025, near the Beliatta entrance of the Southern Expressway by officers of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

The arrest followed a directive from the Attorney General on January 23, 2025, which stated that sufficient evidence existed to name Yoshitha Rajapaksa as a suspect in a case involving the purchase of land worth Rs. 34 million in Sirimal Pedesa, Ratmalana.

The main suspect in the case is Daisy Forrest Wickremesinghe, commonly known as ‘Daisy Achchi,’ who is Yoshitha Rajapaksa’s grandmother.

Rajapaksa was ordered to remain in remand custody until today (January 27) by Additional Magistrate Pavithra Sanjeevani after being produced before the court on January 25, 2025.

This followed the recording of his statement by the CID.

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