Former Speaker and influential minister during the Mahinda Rajapaksa and Gotabaya Rajapaksa administrations, Chamal Rajapaksa, is reportedly likely to be arrested in the coming days, according to a report by Silumina.
Rajapaksa is scheduled to be questioned by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption over allegations that he fraudulently obtained Rs. 152,260,000 from the government. The payment was reportedly claimed by providing false information, alleging that his house and property located in Magama, Tissamaharama, had been set on fire and destroyed during the public unrest on May 9, 2022.
However, investigations have since revealed that the property in Magama, Tissamaharama, is not legally owned by Chamal Rajapaksa, but is registered under someone else’s name. Furthermore, it has come to light that there was no house on the property, only a paddy warehouse.
Rajapaksa had submitted an affidavit claiming possession of the said property. Yet, a subsequent investigation confirmed that only a paddy warehouse existed at the location.
Following these findings, on July 27, 2023, the Additional Secretary (Parliamentary Affairs) of the Ministry of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Government, R.M.N.E.K. Ranasinghe—under the authority of the Secretary to the Ministry—officially informed the Director General of the Office for Compensation that the payment in question could not be processed under the ministry’s purview.
Despite this, on July 20, 2023, an assessor from the Department of Assessment submitted a valuation report indicating the existence of a house on the property, valuing it at Rs. 14,800,000.
As a result, compensation was calculated as Rs. 222,600 for damage to the paddy warehouse and Rs. 14,800,000 for a non-existent house—leading to a total payment of Rs. 152,260,000 from the government.
Legal action is also expected to be initiated against government officials who violated legal procedures and circulars in authorizing and processing this payment.
