A Sri Lankan court on Monday issued an arrest warrant for Gen. (Retd.) Sarath Fonseka’s son-in-law in a multi-million dollar defence scam, spelling more trouble for the defeated opposition presidential candidate who is already detained for treason charges.
The Colombo Fort Magistrate issued an arrest warrant for Dhanuna Tillekaratna over the multi-million dollar Hicorp deal, a defence contract which was awarded when Gen. Fonseka was the army chief.
The CID meanwhile uncovered Sri Lankan Rs. 15 million and $ 5.5 lakh from a safe vault of a private bank in Colombo that belonged to Mr. Tillekaratna’s mother.
The government has claimed the son-in-law of the common opposition presidential candidate has earned profits from arms procurements of the Army during the war with the LTTE.
According to reports, the then Army Commander Fonseka could approve procurement of equipment below the value of Sri Lankan Rs 25 million.
The deal is per se “corrupt” when Gen. Fonseka awarded such tenders to Hicorp International INC of which his son-in-law was the president, the state owned Daily News quoted an leading Attorney-at-Law to say recently.
The company was carrying on its business under a different trade name British Borneo Defence (of which also Mr. Tillekaratna was the president), he said.
The Attorney-at-Law said the Government had laid down clear guidelines for the purchase of equipment and it was not “ethical” to sit in a tender board for a person if somebody known to him or one of his relatives is bidding, the Daily News reported.
