News
Supreme Court greenlights prosecution of couple in Rs 26 bn US fraud case
View(s):By Ranjith Padmasiri
The Supreme Court (SC) has granted special leave to proceed with an appeal filed by the Attorney General against a preliminary objection raised by the defence in a case filed against a couple who had acquired property in Sri Lanka using Rs 26 billion defrauded in the US. In doing so, the SC also set aside a Court of Appeal (CA) order which had upheld the preliminary objection raised by the defence.
Lawyers for the accused had raised a preliminary objection in the Colombo High Court that a husband and wife duo could not be charged with conspiracy in the same indictment. When the High Court rejected their objection, the lawyers had filed an appeal in the CA, which upheld the objection and ordered the Attorney General to amend the erroneous indictment. This led to the AG to file an appeal in the SC against the CA’s decision.
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Dileepa Peiris, who appeared for the Attorney General, had argued in court that a conspiracy charge can be included in the same indictment in a case where a husband and wife are involved in a conspiracy with other people.
The accused, Rienzie Mahesh Kumara and Punya Priyanthi Manike of Colombo 7, Alexandra Place, have been indicted in the High Court over the crime. The court has already frozen 22 properties belonging to the accused. Nalin Ladduwahetty, PC, who appeared for the accused, told court that the AG’s appeal could not be granted.
However, the Supreme Court bench comprising Justices Kumuduni Wickramasinghe and Janak De Silva, after considering the facts before them, set aside the CA’s order and granted the AG’s special leave to appeal.
State Counsels Chrisanga Fernando and N Nishanthan, along with ASG Dileepa Peiris, appeared for the AG.
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