11 October, 2024

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Failing To Act On Ravi K’s Money Laundering Case: Writ Against AG For Corruption Taken Up

The Writ Application (CA/Writs/254/2017) initiated against the Attorney General Jayantha Jayasuriya by the rights activist Nagananda Kodituwakku, for his failure to charge Ravi Karunanayake, the former Finance Minister was taken up yesterday for support before the President of the Court of Appeal Justice L T B Dehideniya and Justice A L Shiran Gunaratne. Originally Ravi Karunanayake had been charged on an indictment for his connivance in a case where an undeclared, sum of 3 million dollars received and deposited in the Standard Chartered Bank, Kirulapona, from Raj Rajarathnam, a criminal now serving 11 serving jail term in the US.

Karunanayake

However, after the President Sirisena formed a government in January, 2015, and made Ravi Karunanayake, the Finance Minister, on 18th May 2015, the accused Ravi Karunanayake was discharged from the said case, citing a omission in the indictment, which however, did not affect the rights of the accused that permit the Court to proceed with the trial in terms of the provisions of Section 166 of the Criminal Procedure Code. At the High Court trial (HC/4648/2009), it was alleged that the date recorded in the indictment is unclear whether it referred to the date the said sum of money 3 million dollars received by the Bank (Standard Chartered Bank, Kirulapona) or the date the said money credited to Account. These objections were raised after the case was transferred from the High Court No 1 to Court No 4, and on 18th May 2015, the High Court Judge W Irangani Perera on the date of her retirement discharged the accused Ravi Karunanayake with two other suspects.

When this matter was taken up for support yesterday, the Attorney General raised preliminary objections on the maintainability of the action initiated by the Petitioner activist Nagananda Kodituwakku in the pubic interest.

The AG submitted to the Court that the Petitioner had come before the Court late and that the activist should have initiated action within a reasonable time from the date the said order made by the High Court of Colombo and the activist Nagananda has failed to do so with in a reasonable time. And it was further submitted to the Court that the AG has a unfettered discretionary power which cannot be questioned. And it was further submitted that the allege offence was not a money laundering and that the Petitioner cannot single out Ravi Karunanayake whereas 3 accused persons along with him had been discharged by the Court. 

And the Attorney General submitted to the Court that the activist-lawyer Nagananda has no legal right to initiate the action against the Attorney General and Ravi Karunanayake, as he was not a party to the said case.

In response to the submission made by the Attorney General, the Petitioner-activist Nagananda submitted to the Court that not just him as a lawyer, but every citizen in the Republic has a constitutional duty to combat the abuse of public property and to uphold and defend the Constitution and the Rule of Law. And he submitted to the Court that the Attorney General, only exercises people’s executive power purely on trust, and the office of the Attorney General enjoy no such unfettered discretion and the AG was under duty to perform his statutory duty as required by law and should have charged the accused Karunanayake on an amended indictment as per the order made by the High Court, where there is special reference to that effect and also under the power vested in him in terms of the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Citing case law (Grand Central Case) activist submitted further to the Court that the government Sri Lanka is not monarch or emperor but a representative democracy where the Attorney General is exercise people’s executive power and he is under duty to protect and defend the people’s sovereign rights which include the legislative, executive and judicial power of the Republic of Sri Lanka. He submitted further that when the members hold office in the Legislature or Executive patently abuse power the Attorney General cannot turn a blind eye and the AG is under duty to enforce law against those elements who abuse sovereign rights of the people whilst holding public offices in the Executive and Legislature purely on trust.

The activist further submitted to the Court that his action initiated in the public interest, was not merely based on the High Court order that discharged the accused Ravi Karunanayake, but it was initiated against AG Jayantha Jayasuriya and his predecessor Yuwanjana Wijethilaka after both of them failed miserably to discharge their constitutional duty of defending the people’s sovereign rights and to charge Karunanayake on a fresh indictment, and therefore both of them were charged for corruption in the CIABOC for abuse of office of the AG to confer unlawful benefit to the accused Karunanayake which is an punishable offence under the Corruption law. The Activist further submitted that he initiated the case against the AG for the reason that he failed to perform his statutory duty, where the AG is required to exercise the discretion vested in him fairly and reasonably and according to law and the said discretion is not unfettered or absolute and hence always liable to be challenged before the Court of law.

Citing the recent Basil Rapaksa’s case, where the accused Rajapaksa was charged on an amended indictment, activist submitted to the Court that when an accused is in the opposition the AG act swiftly whereas the accused represents the ruling party AG becomes subservient and impotent against injustice violating the trust placed in the office by the people and said that is what had exactly happened in the case, compelling him to charged the Attorney General and his predecessor for corruption.

It was further submitted that accused Ravi Karunanayake, then the Finance Minister, played every trick in the book to protect his interests and he went to the extent of repealing the Exchange Control act with all penal sanctions removed in the Bill to be applied with retrospective effect, which however was unlawful compelling the activist the challenged the said Bill in the Supreme Court. And the Supreme Court held that the said provision was illegal and that all cases initiated under the old Exchange Control Act shall be tried under the old law and NOT under the new act, which was enacted in the Parliament in July 2017    

Also citing the UNHRC Resolution of 01st Oct 2016 where the government conceded that people of Sri Lanka have lost faith and confidence in the Judiciary, the activist submitted to the Court that there is a bounden duty vest upon the judiciary to dispense justice speedily and appropriately and to restore trust in the people towards the judiciary and to regain the confidence of the people.

Having heard the submission made for the Petitioner and the Respondent AG the Court did make no order and reserved it subject to written submission that the parties were ordered to tender to the Court on or before 19th Oct 2017.  (By Sachin Gunatilleka)

Related Posts:

Ex-Attorney General In Hot Water For Favouring Ravi Karunanayake In Money Laundering Case

Latest comments

  • 20
    0

    AG should at least now learn who he is.

    • 6
      0

      Sir,
      As a mark of his deep gratitude, Ravi K has already pre-booked a Bed @ Welikdada Boutique Hotel & Spa for Attorney General Jayantha Jayasuriya. Right opposite Chief Jailer’s private sanitary facilities. Fitting location for such an outstanding public servant, I might add.
      Cheers!

  • 16
    0

    “However, after the President Sirisena formed a government in January, 2015, and made Ravi Karunanayake, the Finance Minister”

    technically he did,but under pressure form ranil who was insisting while sira was resisting.Sira was just giving in to ranil for everything and ranil thought he will be his puppet president until he got the shock of his life when sira got rid of mahendran and had a presidential commission to investigate the bond scam. Look at ranil’s face here just after sira did that.

    https://www.colombotelegraph.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Maithripala-and-Ranil-pic-via-Maithripala-Sirisenas-Facebook-.jpg

    compare that with this just after the presidential elections in 2015.He thought he had a puppet.

    file:///C:/Users/User/Pictures/17-04.jpg

    • 5
      1

      Dear “shankar”,

      The first picture is indeed a classic! I was unaware of when it was taken.

      But the second just doesn’t open.

      *

      Never mind; I understand what you are saying and, by and large, agree with you.

      • 0
        0

        here is the second picture just after sira was elected.

        http://www.seithy.com/siteadmin/upload/ranil-maithri-chandrika-400-seithy.jpg

        he is looking down upon sira like as if he was the president and sira is the PM.

        • 0
          0

          Before a man of the stature of Hon PM RW, sira is no more than another Grama sevaka who barely managed clear grade 8 at school.
          For RW its just a matter of assisting Australian federal Police enquiry to look into looting of millions of Dollars by sira, Sira’s former friends will support RW for an impeachment. Period.
          RW is still playing nice for this third class bugger.

  • 17
    0

    How nice. Ravi K changing laws of the state to protect him personally. Both Jayasuriya and Wijetilake should be charged for corruption along with the Judge Irangani Perera who tosses out the case the day she was retiring.

    By charging and convicting Lalith Weeratunga and Anusha Palpita, the Yahapalanaya Government has inadvertently (and to protect their rear) has now set a new precedent.

    Hopefully, this will allow us to bring in the present and former crooks to account for their actions.

    It is time for the Bond scam commission to call on Ranil and it is time for COPE to start investigating the ongoing Central Expressway scam.

  • 13
    0

    Naga – you are my preference for President 2020

    How about Lincoln Piyasena from B R De Silva & Co who was also indicted earlier and there was another party as well in addition to R K?

  • 17
    0

    Well done Mr Nagananda Kodituwakku!!! Well done. May our land be blessed with a million more people like you. We’ve had enough of these spineless cowardly so called “pubic servants” who we pamper with OUR taxes. We need to get these bloody fellows to do their job properly or else, kick them out if they show the incompetence they are showing now.

    • 2
      0

      Luis
      Millions of Naganandas? That will be excellent but right now we need another two or three. Reasonable and attainable. Then the million flowers will bloom.

  • 12
    0

    All that is said here is true, and we must be grateful to Nagananda Kodituwakku for his tireless pursuit of the most corrupt who are in the highest positions. This is very necessary, and he’s been choosing the issues he highlights very well.

    However, we must be aware that he has now launched his Presidential Campaign for 2020, and we have to make our contributions through “Paypal”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftnV7IXQ9NY

    We have to put the country right, but it won’t get done automatically, and we must always be aware that these bad politicians can only be replaced by another set of people who also must necessarily be, or turn themselves into politicians.

    People want miracles; they don’t happen in the real world – only in myths (often elevated to religions!)

  • 5
    3

    Jagath Fernando.

    Naga – you are my preference for President 2020.

    Whats wrong with you Jagath he is not at all Presidential Stuff!
    We need someone like RP to teach these scum bugs and fraudsters a lesson.
    As for NK he has enough skeletons in his cupboard during his tenure at customs.

  • 8
    0

    why only ravi
    what about how wife mela paid for the penthouse

  • 16
    0

    The chairman of Ravi Karunanayake’s company, an Indian, is said to have brought 150 million rupees from London ( yes rupees, not euros or pounds). This was not declared at the Sri Lanka customs.Nor is there any explanation why a foreign national kept such a large sum of money in a safe at Ravi’s office.

    Ravi used this 150 million to buy a apartment at Monarch.
    Just prior to buying this apartment Ravi and family stayed rent free for six months as the Bond fraud Aloysius had paid the rent on behalf of Ravi

    At the time Ravi K was the Minister in charge of this country’s Finance.
    Aren’t there many criminal offences committed in this process ?

    • 3
      0

      Harry

      There are certainly questions for the Exchange Control dept & the IRS but that would be another story. I am sure you have heard of the phrase that there is no such thing as a free lunch & I am sure RK is smart enough to come up with a stupid but perfectly legal answer like ”I knew nothing”, even though ignorance is not considered an excuse in such matters.

  • 12
    0

    Nagananda.

    You are not alone pl.remember. Most people in this country,whether Sinhalese or Tamil
    are against corruption.
    There have been instances in History where David defeated Goliath!

  • 10
    0

    Excellent work Mr Nagananda. Proud of you. But in Sri Lankan courts ……… hmm Ranjan has the right answer! Good luck anyway.

  • 10
    0

    2020 is not far away..
    Let us watch what these shits are going to Sing…
    Certainly people will not vote for Ranil to be the next President though he dreams….because people ..however they are ill educated … they have come to realization that RW is totally unreliable …unsound… unfit for the position…

  • 0
    0

    I have not comment anything in your page Somebody has misused my name please delete the comment made under my name as soon as possible Please take suitable action against the person who did itAs a Priciple I do not comment any web pages thanks

  • 0
    0

    A few too many are pinning their desperate hope on individuals of character.
    Even if they have their choice at the elections, the system decides who is boss.
    *
    The state machinery is there to look after the interests of the ruling class and to protect the existing social order; and will do its mighty best to ensure that nothing changes.
    If the people want change, they have to think outside the box– the ballot box in this instance.

  • 1
    0

    Somebody told me that the sudden exposure and fall of Ravi K is like the piece of log suddenly falling out of “Chinchamamawikawa”. [The woman “Chinchamamawikawa” accused the Lord buddha of fathering the child she was bearing and wore a piece of log in the abdominal area to show the world that she was pregnant. After the public accusation was made the piece of log suddenly fell exposing her false allegation.]. To me now it appears that by and large people take to politics to suck the public funds for their comfort. Only difference is the past lot in robbing acted with some finnese whereas the present lot acted dum. That way Naga is doing a yeoman service in trying to put things in order in his own way and probably at his own cost. Let us give a round of applause!

  • 1
    0

    Nagananda may not succeed but he has prepared the map for future Naganandas. Many thought that the whitevans will be a permanent feature of governance but Lanka has entered a new phase alright.

  • 0
    0

    Could you please request Mr. Nagananda Kodithuwakku to make available his e. mail address to CT for the information of those who wish to keep in touch with him. Like me, many would be wanting to exchange views on current political issues since he has decided to enter the prey in 2020. I am sure it will be very fruitful in view of his proposed candidature. Thank you.

  • 0
    0

    This is in response to Mr Henry Fernando’s request, further to my announcement that that I would contest for 2020 Presidential Election.

    I wish to invite every Sri Lankan, concerned about the criminal elements controlling the Legislature and Executive, whilst the Judiciary is kept under their firm grip denying justice to the people to come forward, the people who wish to bring about a complete meaningful change to the system of governance in Sri Lanka restoring the RULE OF LAW.

    In my candid opinion in this island Nation, the judiciary is under siege.

    My email: nkodituwakku.co@gmail.com

  • 0
    0

    “The AG submitted to the Court that the Petitioner had come before the Court late and that the activist should have initiated action within a reasonable time from the date the said order made by the High Court of Colombo and the activist Nagananda has failed to do so within a reasonable time.”

    It is not the activist Nagananda but certainly the AG who has miserably failed to file a new indictment against Ravi Karunanayaka on money laundering case within a reasonable time.

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