A Fundamental Rights (FR) petition has been filed with the Supreme Court against State Minister Ajith Nivard Carbraal and Secretary to President P.B. Jayasundera over alleged misappropriation of state funds.
The petition has been lodged by the chief incumbent of Nalandaramaya Temple in Nugegoda Ven. Theeniyawala Palitha Thero.
State Minister of Money & Capital Market and State Enterprise Reforms Ajith Nivard Cabraal, Presidential Secretary P.B. Jayasundera, Secretary to the Finance Ministry S.R. Attygalle, Governor of Central Bank, Inspector-General of Police and several others have been named as the respondents of the said FR petition.
The petitioner alleges that State Minister Cabraal had misappropriated state funds by paying off USD 6.5 million to U.S. lobbyist named Imaad Shah Zuberi in 2014 to rehabilitate the island’s image in the United States without the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers or the government. Zuberi is believed to be a secret agent of the Central Intelligence Agency.
According to U.S. Department of Justice, Zuberi – a venture capitalist and political fundraiser – was sentenced to 12 years in prison by a U.S. District Judge for falsifying records to conceal his work as a foreign agent while lobbying high-level U.S. government officials, evading the payment of millions of dollars in taxes, making illegal campaign contributions, and obstructing a federal investigation into the source of donations to a presidential inauguration committee.
In addition, Cabraal is accused of allegedly incurring a loss of Rs. 10.2 billion to Sri Lanka through the Hedging Fund, Ven. Palitha Thero alleged further.
Meanwhile, the COPE has accused Presidential Secretary P.B. Jayasundera of having links to multiple incidents concerning misappropriation of state funds including privatization of the Insurance Corporation and the sale of shares in Lanka Hospital, he said further.
The Supreme Court on a previous occasion had ruled that P.B. Jayasundera cannot serve in a position in the public sector, he added.
The petitioner seeks the Supreme Court to issue an order directing the Inspector-General of Police to conduct an investigation into Cabraal and Jayasundera. He also sought the Supreme Court to instruct the Attorney General to file criminal charges against the duo without delay.
