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Son of Sri Lanka's ex-president arrested over fraud allegation

Xinhua, January 30, 2016 Adjust font size:

A son of former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapakse was arrested on Saturday after he was grilled for hours over allegations of corruption.

Yoshitha Rajapakse, who is a Lieutenant in the Sri Lanka Navy, was detained along with the former president's spokesperson Rohan Weliwita and two others for alleged fraud committed at the Carlton Sports Network (CSN), a Sri Lankan sports, lifestyle and business television channel.

The CSN is alleged to have been owned by the former first family at a center of controversy after allegations of corruption and fraud linked to the channel surfaced through a probe since the new Sri Lankan government came to power early last year.

Yoshitha Rajapakse is the second son of Mahinda Rajapakse. He was grilled for hours on Saturday by the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) at the Sri Lanka Navy Headquarters in capital Colombo.

Local media reports said he will be produced before a local magistrate and will be charged under the Money Laundering Act. Endit