Mahinda Rajapaksa brother faces probe

A brother of former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa has been formally named in a corruption case involving the transfer of state weapons, as the new government pushes ahead with its crackdown against the old regime.

A judicial commission said Thursday that Gotabhaya Rajapaksa faced a hearing next week into allegations he received kickbacks while serving as defence secretary during his brother’s decade in power.

“He, along with four others, were named responsible for the transfer of weapons and other matters and a hearing will begin from next week,” secretary of the commission of four judges, Lacille de Silva, said.

Mr Gotabhaya, widely regarded as the real power behind Mr Mahinda during his rule, could face criminal charges at the end of the hearing. He has denied the allegations against him.

Mr Mahinda lost the January 8 election to Maithripala Sirisena partly on pledges by his former ally to clean up corruption and end cronyism in the Sri Lankan government.

Mr De Silva said five people were named in the case after extensive investigations by the commission set up by Mr Sirisena to probe allegations of corruption.

Under Mr Gotabhaya’s leadership, the ministry allegedly secured a deal with a private security firm, itself under investigation for money laundering and gun running, supplying it with military-issued weapons.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Thursday said it will soon release from jails 20 remaining LTTE suspects detained on terrorism charges, as part of its reconciliation efforts with the minority Tamil community.

Justice minister Wijeyadasa Rajapaksa said that the suspects are part of the 59 people who were identified as those not carrying serious charges against them and there is no threat to national security by their release.

Earlier, 39 suspects, detained on terrorism charges, were released on strong bail conditions, Mr Wijeyadasa told reporters. The 20 suspects who are due to be released have accepted guilt, the minister added.

The Sri Lankan government takes full responsibility to ensure national security, Mr Wijeyadasa said.