File photo of former junior naval officer and former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s son Yoshitha Rajapaksa.
| Photo Credit: AFP

The son of Sri Lanka’s former president Mahinda Rajapaksa was banned on Monday (January 27, 2025) from leaving the country following his arrest for alleged money laundering.

The case against Yoshitha Rajapaksa dates back years, but has received renewed impetus since President Anura Kumara Dissanayake — who has vowed to fight endemic corruption — won a landslide election victory.

Several members of the powerful Rajapaksa family and close associates have been charged with an array of offences over the years, including corruption and even murder — all of which are still pending in the courts.

A former junior naval officer, Yoshitha Rajapaksa, 36, was hit with the travel ban after police said he was unable to explain the sources of income used to purchase a home while his father was in power from 2005 to 2015.

He was arrested and spent two days in detention before being released Monday by a magistrate in Colombo on a bond of 100 million rupees ($344,000).

Yoshitha had told investigators that he raised money to buy the property by selling a small bag of gems his grand-aunt had given him.

She was unable to recall how she acquired the precious stones when asked.

He was arrested in 2016 on a separate money laundering charge related to his purchase of a television network. Both cases have sat dormant for years.

His older brother Namal, a lawmaker in Sri Lanka’s parliament, also faces separate money laundering charges which have not yet gone to trial.

Dissanayake came to power in September 2024 after pledging to expedite the pending criminal cases and bring back stolen assets allegedly stashed abroad.

Cabinet spokesman Nalinda Jayatissa told reporters in Colombo over the weekend that the new government was providing more resources to the criminal investigations department to speed up prosecution.

“This is not a political witch hunt, but people voted us in to ensure that these dragging cases are concluded,” Jayatissa said.

Mahinda Rajapaksa’s younger brother Gotabaya became president in 2019 but was forced out of office in 2022 after a popular revolt, sparked by a ruinous economic crisis.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa also faces corruption charges over military procurements when he was a top defence official during Mahinda’s presidency at the tail end of Sri Lanka’s civil war.

New Delhi:

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has petitioned the Supreme Court challenging his arrest by the CBI in the corruption case linked to the alleged liquor policy scam.

The special leave petition filed before the top court challenges the August 5 decision of the Delhi High Court dismissing Chief Minister Kejriwal’s plea against CBI arrest and subsequent remand.

On Monday, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi mentioned the matter before CJI DY Chandrachud for urgent listing.

At this, CJI Chandrachud asked the senior counsel to send an email to the registry. “Send an email, I will examine it,” the CJI said.

In its impugned decision, a bench of Justice Neena Bansal Krishna of the Delhi HC said that it cannot be said that the arrest was without any justifiable reasons or was illegal.

The Delhi High Court is yet to pronounce its decision on a bail plea filed by the AAP supremo in connection with the CBI case and recently, reserved its verdict on July 29. Earlier that day, the CBI filed its charge sheet before a special court here against the AAP supremo and other accused.

The Enforcement Directorate had already filed its prosecution complaint in the money laundering case, naming the AAP and its national convenor Arvind Kejriwal as accused.

On July 12, the Supreme Court ordered Chief Minister Kejriwal to be released on interim bail in connection with the money laundering case lodged by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). However, he was not able to walk out of jail since he was arrested by the CBI.

Meanwhile, a court here extended the judicial custody of Chief Minister Kejriwal, till August 20 in the excise policy case.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Kolkata:

An Enforcement Directorate (ED) team late Thursday night arrested sitting West Bengal minister and Trinamool Congress leader, Jyotripriya Mallik, in connection with an alleged case of corruption in the public distribution system.

The arrest came a day after the ED conducted searches at Mr Mallick’s residence in Salt Lake, on the outskirts of Kolkata.

As media persons jostled and gathered around the minister while he was being whisked away by the ED sleuths, with the help of Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) personnel, the minister said he was the “victim of a grave conspiracy”.

“West Bengal minister Jyotipriya Mallick has been arrested by ED in connection with an alleged case of corruption in rationing distribution,” the agency stated in an official release.

“I am the victim of a grave conspiracy,” the arrested minister was heard telling media persons while he was being escorted out of his Salt Lake residence.

The ED has been carrying out searches in connection with an alleged case of corruption in ration distribution.

Mr Mallick is currently the state minister for Forest Affairs and previously held the portfolio for the Food and Civil Supplies department.

Till the time of filing this report, the ruling Trinamool Congress, led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, had not responded to the arrest of its minister.

Earlier this year, the ED had arrested former West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee and his aide Arpita Mukherjee, in connection with the teachers’ recruitment scam, after the recovery of huge cash from the latter’s residence.

Both are facing a probe into the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) recruitment scam, according to the ED.

The TMC’s Burbhum district president Anubrata Mondal had also been arrested earlier in connection with a cattle smuggling case.

The chief minister’s nephew and the TMC’s heavyweight leader, Abhishek Banerjee, has also been summoned and questioned by the ED on many occasions in connection with an alleged coal ‘scam’ case.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)