Court grants bail to wife of ‘Backhoe Saman’ in money laundering case

By Bhagya Silva

Colombo, Oct. 31 (Daily Mirror) - Shadhika Lakshani, the wife of Backhoe Saman, who had been in custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, was released on bail by Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama today.

The court observed that the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) had not submitted any evidence to establish that the suspect had committed an offence punishable under Section 54(a) of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, nor had any offence been disclosed under Section 115(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure Act. 

Therefore, the Magistrate ruled that there was insufficient evidence to justify her continued remand and ordered her release on bail.

The suspect was ordered to be released on a cash bail of Rs. 50,000 and three sureties of Rs. 200,000 each. The court also imposed a travel ban on her.

Additionally, the Magistrate ordered her to report to the Financial Investigations Division of the CID every Sunday between 9 a.m. and 12 noon to assist with the ongoing investigation.

The case was fixed for January 22 to report the progress of the investigations.