CID team’s trip to London for investigation cannot be justified: UNP

Colombo, June 16 (Daily Mirror) - The recent trip made by five member Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to London to investigate the trip made by former President Ranil Wickremesinghe to attend his wife’s convocation at the University of Wolverhampton cannot be justified as the probe would have been conducted from Sri Lanka itself using modern formal processes, a statement from the United National Party (UNP) said yesterday.

“Evidence should have been collected using Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA), which has been accepted as a formal process where countries cooperate to investigate and prosecute crimes. Authorities use MLA when evidence, witnesses, or suspects are located abroad, allowing them to legally request foreign governments to execute searches, freeze assets, or take testimonies. It is yet to reveal how much the CID team has spent on their trip to London,” the statement said.

It is unclear about the allegation made by the CID that lavish spending is involved in providing transport facilities to Mr Wickremesinghe and the team by the Sri Lankan High Commission in the UK, in the event that the British government has provided him with such facilities.

“The allegation of spending Rs. 16 million for the trip is also questionable, as it is the norm that the government bears expenses of his personal secretary, security officers, and for his personal physician,” the statement added.