The Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court has granted bail to Yoshitha Rajapaksa, who was arrested by the Bribery Commission this morning (17).

He was ordered released on three personal sureties of Rs. 5 million each while the magistrate also imposed a foreign travel ban on the accused. 

The order was issued by Colombo Additional Magistrate Lahiru Silva after considering submission made by the defendant’s attorneys and the Bribery Commission. 

Yoshitha, the second son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, was arrested this morning after arriving at the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) to record a statement in connection with an ongoing investigation into Yoshitha Rajapaksa’s admission to the Sri Lanka Navy and training at the Royal Naval Academy in the United Kingdom.

The commission said Rajapaksa was arrested on charges of aiding and abetting the offense of corruption related to the incident.

According to CIABOC, the arrest is linked to an investigation into the 2006 recruitment of cadet officers to the executive branch of the Sri Lanka Navy. It is alleged that individuals were recruited without meeting the required qualifications and that state funds were used outside established procedures to facilitate training at the Royal Naval Academy in the UK.

He was produced before the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court by the Bribery Commission following his arrest.