Mount Lavinia Magistrate A.D. Chathurika de Silva has directed the Colombo Fraud Investigation Bureau (FIB) to obtain statements from Deputy Minister of Labour Mahinda Jayasinghe and Kaduwela Mayor Ranjan Jayalal in connection with a suspected fraud involving the National Institute of Labour.
The case centers around allegations that certain individuals, posing as trade union officials, fraudulently leased a building owned by the National Institute of Labour for Rs. 3.6 million using forged documents.
Responding to a request made by the aggrieved party, the Magistrate also instructed the FIB to submit to the court the statement already recorded from Minister of Trade Wasantha Samarasinghe. The court is considering whether to name Minister Samarasinghe as a suspect in the case.
Furthermore, the Magistrate ordered the police to produce all documents uncovered during the investigation, including the deed to the building in question and copies of relevant legal rulings.
President’s Counsel Maithri Gunaratne, appearing for the aggrieved party, formally requested the court to name Minister Samarasinghe as a suspect. According to the ongoing investigation, Mr. Samarasinghe is alleged to have leased the building belonging to the National Institute of Labour to Mr. Mahinda Jayasinghe through a deed.
The Magistrate adjourned the verdict until July 25, instructing that Mr. Samarasinghe’s statement be submitted to assist in drafting the order.
Appearing alongside attorneys Kisal Senanayake and Ishad Shabdeen, President’s Counsel Gunaratne told the court that Minister Samarasinghe had collaborated with an individual named Cyril Ananda to lease the property owned by a trade union registered with the Department of Labour. These facts, he noted, were clearly stated in the initial B reports submitted by the police.
The case will be recalled on July 25.
