26 Dec 2014
Video: Police probe on exchange control offences
2014-12-26 20:06:33
The CID said it was currently investigating the detection of some Swiss Francs one million and US$ 200,000 in a house in Mount Lavinia to ascertain whether it involved a breach of Exchange Control laws.
“The CID found a brief case containing foreign currency after a complaint was made by Tharindu Lakshitha that money given by his uncle was in his house. The brief case was opened in the presence of the Mount Lavinia Magistrate,” Police spokesman Ajith Rohana said.
“We investigating whether these funds had any connection to common opposition candidate Maithripala Sirisena” he said.
SSP Rohana said 32 bank accounts belonging to three suspects including a person named Athula Weeraratne and his wife had been frozen.
Media reports had earlier alleged that Mr. Weeraratne was closely associated with Mr. Sirisena.
http://www.dailymirror.lk/59791/video-police-probe-on-exchange-control-offences

Govt. asks Sirisena where huge forex stash came from

December 25, 2014, 8:12 pm 
The UPFA yesterday challenged opposition presidential candidate Maithripala Sirisena to reveal from where the huge foreign exchange stash which was recovered by the CID from a relative of his son’s girlfriend had come from.

Addressing the media at the Sri Lanka Freedom Party head office, Housing, Construction, Engineering Services and Common Amenities Minister Wimal Weerawansa alleged that Swiss francs and US dollars to the tune of Rs. 150 million found by the Criminal Investigations Department acting on a tip-off had been contributed to Sirisena’s campaign by the pro-LTTE diaspora.

He said at present father of Daham Sirisena’s girlfriend and Daham were absconding.

http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=116619

"If that money had been brought into the country legally, they should have declared it to the CID," Weerawansa said.

He said that though Maithripala Sririsena and UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe asked for a police investigation against the agreement revealed by former UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake alleging that it was a forged document, but they did not deny the points in the document.

Weerawansa challenged Sirisena’s camp to deny the agreement which was inimical to national security as it promised to dismantle high security zones and pull out troops from the North.

"Sirisena did not include a single word about national security, 13th amendment or giving land and police powers to the Northern Provincial Council in his manifesto," Minister Weerawansa said, adding that his silence proved he had a secret pact with the pro-LTTE Tamil National Alliance.

Weerawansa said that TNA would announce its support to opposition presidential candidate Maithripala Sirisena within the next two weeks.

Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena said Srisena had not made any pledge to protect free education in his manifesto.