During the hearing of a case on August 22, Mount Lavinia Magistrate Chathurika de Silva questioned officials of the Colombo Fraud Investigation Bureau (CFIB) as to why the investigation file in a case—related to the preparation of a forged lease agreement and the alleged fraud involving Rs. 3 million—had been referred to the Attorney General for advice before the completion of investigations, even though statements from key individuals had been recorded.
At the previous hearing, the Magistrate had ordered that statements be recorded from Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Wasantha Samarasinghe, Deputy Minister of Labour Mahinda Jayasinghe, and Kaduwela Mayor Ranjan Jayalal. Accordingly, Jayasinghe and Jayalal appeared before the CFIB on August 14, while Samarasinghe appeared on August 21, and their statements were reported to court by the Bureau on August 22, when the Magistrate raised the above question.
CFIB officials did not provide a direct response but informed court that the investigation file had already been sent to the Attorney General on February 19, 2025, for advice regarding the alleged fraud involving the forged lease agreement.
The Bureau further told court that all relevant statements have now been recorded and that Samarasinghe, in his statement, had said he appeared as the lessor based on a decision of the Executive Committee of the National Workers’ Congress trade union during its 2020 General Assembly.
It was also revealed that, despite court having issued two clear orders for the suspects in this case to be arrested, the police had failed to carry out those orders, instead claiming that Attorney General’s instructions were required.
Appearing on behalf of the aggrieved party, President’s Counsel Maithri Gunaratne told court that since the National Workers’ Institute had its own lawful officials, Samarasinghe had no legal authority to lease the two-storied building and land in question. He further stated that he believed Magistrate Chathurika de Silva had been transferred due to this very case.
