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Sri Lanka's former first lady questioned over corruption allegations

Xinhua, June 1, 2015 Adjust font size:

Sri Lanka's former first lady Shiranthi Rajapakse was questioned by a special police unit on Monday over allegations of corruption.

She was accompanied by her husband, former President Mahinda Rajapakse, when she left to appear before police officials from the Financial Crimes Investigations Division (FCID).

According to Media Co-ordinating Officer to the former First Lady, Anoma Weliwita, Rajapakse gave her statement from an undisclosed location in capital Colombo due to a large crowd having gathered outside the FCID office.

Police last week summoned Rajapakse to appear before the FCID due to corruption allegations over a bank account belonging to the Carlton "Siriliya Saviya" organization, whose patron is the former First Lady.

The organization was set up to help rural women and war widows who were economically disadvantaged.

Her elder son and parliamentarian Namal Rajapakse in a statement last week responding to the allegations said that the government was resorting to "vengeance" by targeting his mother. "My Mother has always stayed away from politics. Does she deserve this harassment?! Yahapalanaya (Good governance) seems just a facade for this government. Vengeance isn't good governance. Targeting my mother proves it,"he said in a statement. "President Rajapaksa and I, as politicians, are always ready to face political vengeance. But I wish they would leave my mother and brothers alone,"he added.

Former President Mahinda Rajapakse, his family and brothers and some of his close aides who held powerful portfolios in the previous government are all under a corruption probe in the island country mostly on allegations of financial fraud after he was defeated in a presidential election in January.

Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera recently told journalists that Rajapakse and his family had siphoned off over 18 billion U.S. dollars overseas which belonged to the state and a probe has been launched into the matter. Endi