Yoshitha Rajapaksa, Daisy Forrest indicted in money laundering case

Yoshitha Rajapaksa and his aunt, Daisy Forrest Wickremesinghe, also known as ‘Daisy Achchi’, were served indictments today (July 2) before the Colombo High Court.

Yoshitha is the second son of former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The indictments were filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and presented before Colombo High Court Judge Pradeep Abeyratne.

Subsequently, the court ordered the release of both accused on two surety bails of Rs. 1 million each. The court also directed that their fingerprints be recorded.

Senior State Counsel Oswald Perera, appearing on behalf of the complainant, informed the court that another case against the accused is scheduled to be taken up before Colombo High Court No. 1 on July 11, 2025. He noted that the documents in both cases are similar and requested the defense to notify him of any deficiencies in the documents.

President’s Counsels Sampath Mendis and Anil Silva, representing the defense, assured the court that they would examine the documents and raise any concerns if necessary.

Judge Pradeep Abeyratne then ordered that the current case be called again on August 4, 2025.

The Attorney General has filed three charges against the accused, alleging that they deposited over Rs. 59 million in unlawfully earned money as fixed deposits in three private banks between March 31, 2009, and December 12, 2013, an offense under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.