posted November 12, 2005 08:52 PM            

Sunday, September 18, 2005 Posted : 6:08:19 AM Sri Lanka Time (9/18/2005 12:08:19 AM GMT)

By Sonali Samarasinghe

On Thursday (15) Mahinda Rajapakse's election campaign exploded in his face with the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) filing action in the Fort Magistrate's Court on the 'Helping Hambantota' scam.

The B report, in case no:B/1294/05, prepared by Fraud Squad 1 of the CID was filed before Fort Magistrate, Sarath Karunatileke under Section 115 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Sri Lanka.

Based on the report filed by the CID the court immediately called for details of the several bank accounts involved in the 'Helping Hambantota' fiasco including the private account maintained at Standard Chartered Bank.

The magistrate made order directing the managers of People's Bank Union Place, Standard Chartered Bank Rajagiriya and Central Bank Taprobane to furnish all necessary details to the CID to facilitate the proper investigation and inquiry into the case.

Details to be furnished included the mandate to open the account, a summary of the account from the date it was opened up until August 2005, details of all deposits into the account during the above period and details of cheques, all withdrawals from the accounts and details of cheques and copies of the bank draft depositing monies into the National Disaster Relief Fund.

The Fraud Squad of the CID investigated the private account scam on a complaint of Criminal Misappropriation and Criminal Breach of Trust under Sections 386 and 388 of the Penal Code of Sri Lanka made against Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse by UNP MP Kabir Hashim on July 19 this year.

However the investigation and the magisterial inquiry, which is set to commence with the filing of the B Report, is already coming under heavy fire with allegations of political interference and subterfuge.

The Prime Minister who received large sums of money following the December 26 tsunami disaster is accused of opening an account named 'Prime Minister's Punarjeewana Fund' on December 31, 2004 at People's Bank and depositing over Rs. 73 million in contravention of a presidential directive dated December 29, 2004 not to open any separate accounts but to credit all monies received into the President's Fund for Disaster Relief maintained at the Central Bank.