Sri Lanka court refuses to issue arrest warrants for 2 Indian directors in bribery case
COLOMBO, Oct 3: A Sri Lankan court has refused to issue arrest warrants for two Indian directors of a company in connection with an alleged bribery case for which opposition leader Namal Rajapaksa is in remand custody. Prosecutors from the...
11:57 AM Oct 03, 2026 IST
COLOMBO, Oct 3: A Sri Lankan court has refused to issue arrest warrants for two Indian directors of a company in connection with an alleged bribery case for which opposition leader Namal Rajapaksa is in remand custody.
Prosecutors from the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) sought the arrest of Amit Katyal and Rajendra Prasad Gupta, directors at an Indian investment project, Krish Hotels.
The Colombo chief magistrate on Friday refused to issue the arrest warrants, citing a lack of evidence, and asked the CIABOC to file a report in court covering evidence for warrant issuance.
The local agent of the Indian investment project, Janaki Siriwardena, and prominent opposition leader Rajapaksa are currently in remand as suspects in the alleged bribery case.
Rajapaksa, 40, the elder son of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, has been accused of accepting a bribe of 70 million Sri Lankan rupees in 2013 in connection with the stalled hotel project.
Rajapaksa was remanded in the case on September 29 until October 13.
According to the CIABOC, Siriwardena bribed Rajapaksa on several occasions to obtain key approvals for the project, which never got off the ground.
Prosecutors alleged that Rajapaksa, as a powerful politician under his father's presidency then, had thrown political weight to speed up necessary approvals.
Rajapaksa, an international rugby player, claimed the money was sponsorship for an international rugby event held in Colombo in 2014.
He has been in remand since September 4 in connection with a USD 2 million bribe case, and had another remand order issued against him in a separate money laundering case. (PTI)
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