Basil acquitted from Samurdhi gratuity case

The Kaduwela Magistrate’s Court today acquitted Minister Basil Rajapaksa from the case filed against him over in 2015 over the misappropriation of ‘Divineguma’ funds.

The then minister of Economic Development had been accused of paying compensation and gratuity to Samurdhi recipients from the funds of the Divineguma community-based bank of the Divineguma Department.

It had been alleged that several financial irregularities had taken place in the implementation of the compensation and and gratuity project of the Divineguma Development Department, which was under the purview of the Economic Development Ministry.