The circumstances under which Yoshitha Rajapaksa, the second son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, was selected for prestigious naval training in the United Kingdom at the expense of the Sri Lankan state were detailed in court on Tuesday following his arrest by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC).
Presenting facts before the Colombo Magistrate’s Court, CIABOC Deputy Director General Ruwini Wickramasinghe outlined what investigators described as a carefully orchestrated process through which Yoshitha Rajapaksa was recruited into the Sri Lanka Navy and subsequently sent for training at the Royal Naval College in Britain, allegedly bypassing established procedures and qualifications.
The complaint that triggered the investigation was received by the Bribery Commission on June 25, 2016. According to the Commission, the complaint alleged that state funds had been misused to facilitate overseas naval training for Yoshitha Rajapaksa, while depriving other qualified candidates of the opportunity.
Addressing court, Wickramasinghe stated that the opportunity to undergo Royal Navy Young Officers’ Training at the Royal Naval College in Britain was highly competitive and traditionally reserved for the most outstanding naval cadet officers.
“The opportunity to undergo this prestigious training is extremely limited,” she told court. “Normally, officers are selected after demonstrating exceptional performance during a two-year cadet training programme in the Sri Lanka Navy.”
However, according to the Commission, Yoshitha Rajapaksa was still a civilian when he was nominated for the training programme in 2006.
Investigators alleged that his name was inserted into the list of candidates and forwarded for the British training programme even before he had completed the process required to become a naval officer.
The Commission further alleged that the recruitment criteria for executive officer positions in the Navy were altered to facilitate his entry into the service.
According to the facts presented in court, the standard qualifications required applicants to have passed six subjects with distinctions at the G.C.E. Ordinary Level examination, including Mathematics, Sinhala, Science and English, while also possessing Advanced Level qualifications in Mathematics or Science streams.
At the time, Yoshitha Rajapaksa had sat for the Advanced Level examination in the Arts stream.
The Commission stated that newspaper advertisements published on October 15 and October 22, 2006, calling for applications to executive officer positions, reflected a significant change in eligibility requirements. The revised criteria allowed applicants from Science, Mathematics and Arts streams, thereby broadening eligibility and, according to investigators, enabling Yoshitha Rajapaksa to qualify for recruitment.
The Bribery Commission also highlighted what it described as irregularities in the sequence of events leading to his overseas training.
According to court submissions, candidates selected for Royal Navy training are required to undergo medical examinations before departure.
Investigators revealed that Yoshitha Rajapaksa had undergone blood tests connected to the overseas training programme on December 6, 2006. However, he and 26 other recruits were officially enlisted into the Sri Lanka Navy only on December 14 and 15, 2006.
The Commission argued that the timing suggested preparations for his overseas deployment had begun even before he formally became a naval officer.
Court was further told that Yoshitha Rajapaksa and the other recruits were sent to Trincomalee on December 29, 2006, to begin naval training. However, unlike the others, he was reportedly removed from the programme before completion and returned to Colombo in preparation for his departure to Britain.
According to investigators, he left Sri Lanka for the Royal Naval College on January 7, 2007.
One of the key allegations presented by the Bribery Commission concerned the cost incurred by the state in facilitating the training.
Wickramasinghe informed court that officers attending the Royal Navy Young Officers’ Course between 1995 and 2010 had generally done so under scholarship arrangements. However, she alleged that Yoshitha Rajapaksa was sent to the programme at public expense.
The Commission stated that more than Rs. 5.4 million was spent directly on the training programme, while additional expenditure on personal and related costs brought the total state expenditure to approximately Rs. 6.2 million.
According to investigators, this expenditure resulted in a financial loss to the government.
The Commission further alleged that the then Navy Commander Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda had played a central role in facilitating the process.
Addressing court, Wickramasinghe alleged that Yoshitha Rajapaksa and Karannagoda had acted in concert to secure the overseas training opportunity and had caused a loss of more than Rs. 6.2 million to the state.
She further alleged that the actions amounted to the conferring of an undue benefit and advantage upon Yoshitha Rajapaksa and therefore constituted an offence under Section 70 of the Bribery Act.
Following the presentation of facts, counsel appearing for Yoshitha Rajapaksa requested that his client be released on bail under the provisions of the Bail Act.
After considering submissions from both sides, Additional Magistrate Lahiru N. Silva ordered that Yoshitha Rajapaksa be released on bail.
The case is scheduled to be taken up again on August 4.
The allegations presented in court remain subject to judicial examination, and no findings have yet been made regarding the merits of the case.
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