Basil arrested and remanded till 1 August

Kaduwela Magistrate Dhammika Hemapala yesterday ordered that former Economic Affairs Minister Basil Rajapaksa be remanded until 1 August after being arrested for a third time by the Financial Crime Investigation Division (FCID) last morning. 

He was arrested over the alleged misappropriation of Rs. 36.5 million belonging to the Divi Neguma Development Authority which he is accused of using to purchase and distribute GI pipes during the run-up to the last presidential election.

Basil Rajapaksa at Kaduwela Courts – Pic by Romesh Danushka Silva 

The FCID claimed that Rajapaksa had committed offences under the Public Property Act and the Penal Code. It further charged that he had purchased the GI pipes for local government institutions without any request made for them. On Friday the Attorney General (AG) served an indictment against Rajapaksa and three others over the alleged misappropriation of Rs. 33 million of Divi Neguma funds meant for the distribution of asbestos sheets for Divi Neguma beneficiaries during the campaign period of the previous presidential election.