Ravi Wijeratne files Rs. 15 b lawsuit over alleged contractual breach

Friday, 8 August 2025 00:08 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Ravi Wijeratne

Business magnate Ravi Wijeratne and Rank Entertainment Holdings Ltd., have filed action before the Colombo Commercial High Court against four Defendants, including Waterfront Properties Ltd., and John Keells Holdings PLC, seeking Rs. 15 billion in damages for the alleged breach of contractual obligations and failure to disclose material information concerning the Plaintiffs.

The plaint cited Waterfront Properties Ltd., John Keells Holdings PLC, Hong Kong-listed Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd., and Bluehaven Services Ltd., as the Defendants.

When the matter was taken up before Colombo Commercial High Court Judge M.Y.M. Irsadeen on Tuesday, the Defendants were directed to file their answers by 12 November 2025.

In their complaint, the Plaintiffs stated that they had been continuously engaged in contractual dealings since 2013 with Cinnamon Life and John Keells Holdings PLC with the understanding that a casino licence held by Rank Entertainment Holdings would be set aside to run the casino at the Cinnamon Life casino space.

The Plaintiffs stated that Rank Entertainment Holdings had kept inoperative a casino licence solely for this purpose since 2013 by paying millions of rupees to the Government and without using the licence in any way. The Plaintiffs further stated that due to the understanding between the parties regarding the use of the casino licence at the Cinnamon Life casino space, Rank Entertainment Holdings and Ravi Wijeratne invested heavily and cooperated with financial plans and projects to facilitate the design and development of the casino space at Cinnamon Life’s integrated resort.

The Plaintiffs stated that they have over 30 years of experience in operating casinos in Sri Lanka and had extended effort and spent significantly to compile, create, and maintain undisclosed information and proprietary commercially sensitive information and now, Waterfront Properties and John Keells Holdings, in particular, have unfairly benefitted from the same, while depriving Rank Entertainment Holdings of the opportunity to use the casino space at Cinnamon Life.

The Plaintiffs also said that the casino space was now being operated by the Hong Kong-based Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd., the casino operator, and Bluehaven Services Ltd., its Sri Lankan subsidiary which now holds a casino licence.

It is the position of the Plaintiffs that Cinnamon Life and John Keells Holdings PLC had no prior information or experience in the casino industry in Sri Lanka and wholly relied upon the undisclosed information of Wijeratne and Rank Entertainment Holdings. The unlawful use and disclosure of undisclosed information is actionable under Sri Lankan law in terms of the Intellectual Property Act, No. 36 of 2003.

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