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CID to investigate ‘presidential pardon’ for convicted fraudster
View(s):By Dilushi Wijesinghe
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has been ordered to probe the release of a former finance company manager found guilty of misappropriating millions under a so-called ‘presidential pardon’.
The Anuradhapura High Court convicted Athula Tilakaratne of misappropriating four million rupees on May 2. Just ten days later, he was released after prison officials claimed that he had received a presidential pardon in view of Vesak.
Yesterday, the President’s Media Division (PMD) issued a statement confirming that the convict’s name was not included in the original list of 388 inmates recommended for pardon by the Commissioner General of Prisons. “The names of eligible inmates are selected by prison authorities and submitted to the Ministry of Justice. After a review by the Ministry, the final list is forwarded to the Presidential Secretariat for approval by the President,” the statement added. Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara told the Sunday Times yesterday that the list, which was submitted to be approved by the president, did not have Mr. Tilakaratne’s name. “I am unaware of the reason behind the convict’s release, and that’s why we took some time to investigate,” he said.
The statements by the Justice Minister and the PMD contradict a statement made by Prisons Commissioner Gamini B. Dissanayake, who claimed that the release was based on a presidential pardon. The Sunday Times reached out for clarification, but Mr. Dissanayake did not respond.
When the case was taken up this week before High Court Judge Lakmali Hewawasam, officials from the Anuradhapura Prison conveyed to the judge that the convict had received a presidential pardon and requested his release and discharge from the case.
He had initially been sentenced to six months of rigorous imprisonment, fined Rs. 20,000, and handed a two-year rigorous imprisonment suspended for five years. The court also ordered Rs. 2 million in compensation to the complainant, with an extra six months’ imprisonment if unpaid.
Mr. Tilakaratne has a prior financial fraud conviction and faces over 20 similar cases in the Anuradhapura Magistrate’s Court, along with several pending in the High Court. Complainants include two former specialist judicial medical officers of Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital, doctors, lawyers, and businessmen.
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