JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake had been chanting slogans for the past several years that looted public funds by Rajapaksas are hidden in “Dubai and Seychelles”.
During the last Good Governance government (so-called Yahapalana Regime), apart from Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Sajith Premadasa, Ranjan Ramanayake, Bimal Ratnayake, Sunil Handunnetti and the group made a big voice shouting that looted public funds by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa has been hidden in Dubai and the Marriot Hotel in Dubai belongs to him.
Further, they claimed that a massive amount of stolen money was hidden elsewhere too.
During the previous Good governance government, they asked the then Government to send the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) Members to Dubai in search of looted money by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Subsequently, Several officers of the FCID went to Dubai in search of alleged stolen money said to have been hidden there by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
FCID officials stayed in Dubai hotels and tried to find the alleged US$ One Billion that Mahinda Rajapaksa was said to have hidden. Finally, they could not find a single dollar that Mahinda Rajapaksa was said to have looted.
Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa was brave enough to openly state that in case a single dollar said to have been stolen was found in any country, he would behead himself.
When the Joint Opposition repeatedly questioned Ranjith Madduma Bandara, then Minister in charge of police in the Good Governance government in Parliament, whether former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s hidden money in Dubai was found and Ranjith Madduma Bandara, the Minister of Public Security in the Good Governance government, was helpless and unable to answer.
The reason why then Minister Ranjith Madduma Bandara did not have an answer to that question was pointed out by the current President Ranil Wickremesinghe in Parliament on the past 22nd day.
On the past 22nd day, President Ranil Wickremesinghe replied to JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake that “there is no evidence of having money in Dubai Banks belonging to Rajapaksas”.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe further explained that although a team was sent to Dubai state to search for one billion US dollars allegedly deposited by the Rajapaksa family in Dubai, the team told him there was no evidence of such funds.
Anura Kumara Dissanayake questioned President Ranil Wickremesinghe that a team comprising J.C. Weliamuna, Dilrukshi Dias and DIG Ravi Vidyalankara was sent to Dubai to find out whether the news that one billion US dollars had been deposited in a bank of the Kingdom of Dubai is accurate and what was revealed there?
President Ranil Wickremesinghe explained that during their rule of Good Governance government, a team led by President’s Counsel J.C.Weliamuna went to Dubai and returned to Sri Lanka after investigating the matter.”They said that there is no evidence of such an occurrence. So he has nothing more to do”.
It is very clear from the President’s speech that the rumour of the fabricated story of Mahinda’s money being hidden in Dubai has now been exposed, and it is a baseless allegation. The members of the then Joint Opposition in Parliament questioned the excellent governance government about the expenditure of air tickets, hotel accommodation, food and drinks of the group that went to Dubai in search of money while they were staying in Dubai, but they did not get reasonable responses.
But Ranil Wickremesinghe, the Prime Minister of the Good Governance government as well as the current President of the country, has given answers to all those accusations in Parliament.
The Good Governance (Yahapalana Regime) included some prominent government servants searching for stolen money in Dubai to give large-scale propaganda. Also, this baseless allegation against Rajapaksas was the main slogan used to justify the Public protest (so-called Aragalaya) carried out in the recent past with International publicity too.
Public involvement and interest in the Aragalaya protection campaign are now diminishing after an investigation by FCID failed to reveal any “Stolen money by Rajapaksa and learned that it is a fabricated story.
Since Mahinda Rajapaksa does not often go to such legal proceedings, there is a possibility that he is vulnerable to mudslinging at him in different styles by his political opponents who made desperate attempts to tarnish his excellent image among the Sri Lankan public he has earned, especially after the liberation of the country and nation eliminating LTTE terrorism.
Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa can enforce the law against the mudslinging campaigners that the Rajapaksas have hidden money in Dubai.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa however does not want revenge in any way or enforce the law against these slanderous accusations.
But history will judge whether former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s complacency to all these allegations is his maturity or weakness.