Former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa today appeared before the Colombo Chief Magistrate following an order issued to him and seven others to be in Courts over the controversial Avant Garde case where Gotabaya along with several others were alleged to have made a profit amounting to Rs. 11 billion.

Former secretary to the MOD – Gotabaya

Apart from Rajapaksa and Nissanka Senadhipathi, the others who appeared before Court were Sujatha Damayanti, Maj. Gen. Palitha Fernando, Karunaratne Bandara Adhikari, Somatilaka Dissanayake, Jayanath Colombage and Jayantha Perera. They were asked to appear before court following bribery charges filed by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery and Corruption.

In August, The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery and Corruption filed a case at the Colombo Magistrate Court against Rajapaksa, and seven others. The eight suspects have been charged for allowing Avant Garde to maintain a floating armoury, thereby resulting in them making an unlawful profit of Rs. 11. 4 billion.

On September 6, the Commissioner arrested both Senadhipathi and Fernando and produced them before the Colombo Chief Magistrate Gihan Pilapitiya, who released them on bail on the same day. On September 20, the Commission filed an application at the Colombo High Court seeking the bail order be revised.