Cabraal and Weeratunga released from private plaint

By Lakmal Sooriyagoda 
The Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court yesterday ordered to release former Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal and former Secretary to President Lalith Weeratunga from a private plaint, after upholding the preliminary objections raised by the defence, challenging the maintainability of the case. 

Ven. Thiniyawala Palitha Thera had filed a private plaint over the alleged financial irregularities that took place while Cabraal and Weeratunga were serving as the Central Bank Governor and President’s Secretary, respectively in 2014.  
Taking into consideration the preliminary objections raised by the defence, Colombo Fort Magistrate Thilina Gamage ordered to release Cabraal and Weeratunga from the case, in terms of Section 186 of the Code of Criminal Procedure Code. The matter was dismissed accordingly. 
While ordering to dismiss the petition, the magistrate observed that there is no sufficient evidence to precede a criminal case against the accused.  
This private plaint had been filed by Ven. Thiniyawala Palitha Thera in terms of Section 136(1)(a) of the Code of Criminal Procedure Act.  
The petitioner alleged that the Sri Lankan government, when Cabral was functioning as the Central Bank Governor in 2014, had paid US $ 6.5 million through the Central Bank to an American businessman named Imaad Shah Zuberi, who was a CIA mole, to buy influence and fix its image in the US. 
The petitioner further alleged that the US Court has held that out of the said money given to him on behalf of Sri Lankan taxpayers, US $ 5.6 million or 80 percent of it had been spent on himself and his wife. The petitioner said Cabraal had paid the sum of US $ 6.5 million without having prior approval from Parliament or the Cabinet of Ministers, in violation of Article 150 of the constitution. President’s Counsel Sampath Mendis appeared for the defence.