Leading international company granted legal relief in Sri Lanka in online defamation dispute

Copreus Ltd., a subsidiary of a leading global conglomerate, has been granted an enjoining order in the District Court of Sri Lanka on 27 October, against R.A.M.P. Rathnayake and W.D. Dananjaya Naranbadda, owners and operators of the YouTube Channel ‘Life Traveler’, who published certain defamatory videos regarding Copreus Ltd., on the said YouTube channel. 

Incorporated in Sri Lanka in 2018, Copreus Ltd., a subsidiary of a global conglomerate of the same name, is a leading company in Sri Lanka providing certain BPO services for www.finq.com and www.gulfbrokers.com, two renowned international CFD e-trading platforms. 

Copreus has successfully engaged these platforms as clients and provides the platforms with certain outsourced sales, marketing, and intermediary services from Sri Lanka, on their behalf, for their customers located both within and outside of Sri Lanka. 

Since its entry into the Sri Lankan business sector in 2018, Copreus has provided necessary expertise to its clients regarding operating of trading accounts with online trading platforms and providing guidance in relation to CFD’s, securities, and other financial instruments. With its global successes and partnerships with world-renowned platforms, Copreus has garnered itself a reputation of reliability in the field of BPO, in Sri Lanka. 

The Defendants in the case, R.A.M.P. Rathnayake and W.D. Dananjaya Naranbadda had published two videos regarding Copreus, on ‘The Life Traveler’ YouTube Channel, making inferences and implications of an alleged connection between Copreus and Thilini Priyamali, a well-known businesswoman in Sri Lanka who has gained notoriety in recent days due to ongoing investigations against her regarding her involvement in committing financial fraud against her clients through her company Thico Group Ltd., allegedly defrauding them of hundreds of millions of rupees. 

Thilini Priyamali, who remains in remand custody, has become infamous in Sri Lanka due to her controversial and illegal activities. Dananjaya Naranbadda, the presenter of the YouTube videos, states in the videos that Copreus Ltd. is a company allegedly owned by Thilini Priyamali and alleges that Copreus engages in illegal activities including fraud. The Life Traveler videos regarding Copreus were widely viewed and shared on YouTube and multiple other social media platforms including Facebook. 

Copreus Ltd., in its defamation action filed in court against the operators of The Life Traveler YouTube channel, particularly Dananjaya Naranbadda, a well-known media personality, stated to the District Court of Colombo that Copreus categorically denies any connection whatsoever between Copreus and Thilini Priyamali and any statements or insinuations drawn between the two are entirely false, malicious, misleading, and defamatory of Copreus. 

In its complaint to the court, Copreus has also stated that there is no evidence to state that such a connection exists between the company and Thilini Priyamali, and that the Defendants in the action are attempting to defame Copreus for fame and notoriety. 

District Court Judge Purnima Paranagamage granted an Enjoining Order against R. A. M. P. Rathnayake and W. D. Dananjaya Naranbadda, preventing them, their servants, and agents from continuing to publish and/or allowing to be published, displayed or hosted on The Life Traveler YouTube channel or any other social media channel or in any other manner, the two videos referring Copreus, or any other material defamatory to Copreus. 

Copreus Private Ltd. was represented in court by counsel Attorney-At-Law Manoj Bandara and Attorney-At-Law Jinanji Senanayake, instructed by Sudath Perera Associates.