Former Litro Gas head and three others released on bail

By T. Farook Thajudeen

The former Chairman of Litro Gas Lanka Ltd. Shalila Moonesinghe and three other suspects who were in remand were released on Rs. 50,000 cash with three sureties of Rs. 500,000 each by Colombo Fort Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne yesterday.

The Magistrate said that one of the sureties for the suspects should be a close relation.

The suspects were ordered to be present in person before the CID on the second and the last Sundays of every month. The suspects were banned from travelling overseas by the Magistrate.

The Magistrate released the suspects on bail after considering that the investigation on the matter had been concluded by the CID. 

She also said that the investigations conducted by the CID had not revealed the involvement of the suspects in hacking the computers of the Far Eastern International Bank in Taiwan. Consequently, they were released on bail. They were arrested by the CID for allegedly hacking the Far Eastern International Bank, Taiwan and transferring $ 2.1 million dollars from the bank into a private Bank of Ceylon account.

The CID produced the suspects before Fort Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne and remanded them on charges of fraud and criminal misappropriation. 

The CID earlier informed court that a team including Interpol and a group of officials of the Far Eastern International Bank in Taiwan were due to arrive in Sri Lanka to conduct investigations.

It has revealed that the mastermind of the scam was an Indian national who goes by the alias Chokaliya.

Meanwhile, Litro Gas Lanka Ltd. has assured to all of its stakeholders that the company had no connection with or knowledge of the alleged transaction of former Chairman Moonesinghe.

Taiwanese investigating the Far Eastern International Bank hack had revealed that the hack had resulted in the transfer of $ 60 billion worth of funds to bank accounts in several countries, including Sri Lanka.