Court orders Basil Rajapaksa’s arrest, seeks Interpol Red Notice

Basil Rajapaksa

Colombo Fort Magistrate Pasan Amarasena today (October 14, 2026) ordered the arrest of former Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa over the alleged misuse of Rs. 7.8 million in public funds.

The Magistrate directed the Criminal Investigation Department’s (CID) Illegal Assets Investigation Unit to arrest Rajapaksa and produce him before court.

The court also ordered that arrest warrants be issued in both Sinhala and English to facilitate the process of obtaining an Interpol Red Notice against Rajapaksa.

The orders were issued after the CID made submissions regarding an ongoing investigation into the alleged misuse of funds belonging to the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB).

According to investigators, Rs. 7.8 million allocated to the Bureau in 2014 for tourism promotion activities was allegedly used to purchase 12,000 T-shirts for the Uva Provincial Council election campaign instead of its intended purpose.

The CID informed the court that the alleged misuse of these funds had caused a financial loss to the government.

The CID’s Illegal Assets Investigation Unit had previously reported the matter to court as part of its investigation into the alleged misuse of state funds.

After considering the submissions, the Magistrate also directed the CID to take further steps through Interpol to locate and apprehend Rajapaksa.