Basil Rajapaksa Interpol Alert: Sri Lanka Police To Seek Blue Notice Over Money Laundering Case

Sri Lanka police will soon request an Interpol blue alert for former minister Basil Rajapaksa, who is wanted over money laundering charges and alleged misappropriation of state funds for electioneering, police chief Priyantha Weerasuriya said on Saturday. Basil, the younger brother of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, is believed to be in the US.

According to PTI, Weerasuriya said the Criminal Investigation Department would soon make the request for the alert. An Interpol blue alert is a means of establishing whether a wanted person is residing in another country, according to police sources. The move comes as several members of the Rajapaksa family face investigations and legal proceedings over alleged financial and other offences.

Basil is wanted in Sri Lanka over money laundering charges linked to the acquisition of property in the southern district of Matara. He is also accused of misappropriating state funds for electioneering in 2014.

Basil served as Mahinda Rajapaksa’s economic development minister from 2010 to 2015. He later became finance minister under his other brother, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who was president from 2019 to 2022.

Namal Rajapaksa remains in remand

The development comes after the arrest of Mahinda Rajapaksa’s elder son Namal. Namal was arrested on September 4 and has remained in remand custody over two separate cases concerning alleged graft in the purchase of Airbus aircraft for SriLankan Airlines in 2013.

When Namal appeared in court on Friday, his bail application cited a work visit to India from September 27 to October 1. It also referred to his need to attend a Buddhist religious ceremony in Sri Lanka’s central province. He was denied bail, while the decision on his bail application was deferred until September 29.

PTI reported that Namal’s mother, Shiranthi Rajapaksa, travelled to Singapore this week for medical treatment after the police financial crimes division called her for questioning on September 24. She is being questioned over alleged misappropriation of funds belonging to a charity.

Other family members questioned

Former parliamentary speaker Chamal Rajapaksa, the older brother of Mahinda, Gotabaya and Basil, was questioned about two weeks ago by the anti-graft commission over the same Airbus aircraft purchase. His son, Shamindra Rajapaksa, has also been accused of wrongdoing in connection with the deal.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who served as president from 2019 to 2022, was questioned last week over the 2006 purchase of MiG aircraft for the Sri Lanka Air Force.

According to police, Namal’s younger brother Yoshitha Rajapaksa will soon be indicted over the alleged purchase of a property in a Colombo suburb through questionable means.