Sri Lanka’s request for the extradition of former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran has been submitted to the Singaporean Foreign Ministry by the Sri Lankan High Commission in Singapore, the Attorney General’s Co-ordinating officer, State Counsel Nishara Jayaratne, disclosed yesterday.
President Maithripala Sirisena signed the extradition request on September 6. The formal request to extradite the former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran from Singapore to Sri Lanka comprised a dossier containing more than 21,000 pages prepared by the Attorney General to be submitted to the relevant authorities in Singapore as supporting material for the extradition.
“The President scrutinised the related documents and placed his signature as the Minister of Defence,” Presidential Media Division sources told the Daily News.
Arjuna Mahendran has been absconding abroad since he was named as a suspect in the Central Bank Treasury bond scam.
The Attorney General filed indictments against Mahendran and nine others before the Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar in June this year with Mahendran and another suspect absconding by being way from the country.
Mahendran is understood to be living in Singapore where he had been previously domiciled after migrating from Sri Lanka.
The High Court Trial-at-Bar allowed the AG’s Department to proceed with the extradition request after it filed an affidavit in court explaining the reasons as to why a warrant should be issued against the Mahendran, who is the first accused in the case.
The Straits Times of Singapore last week reported that the Singaporean Foreign Affairs Ministry would consider the extradition request for Mahendran once the necessary supporting information and documents were received.
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