Shiranthi Rajapaksa Allegedly Involved in Treasury Gold Scam
Details have emerged regarding allegations leveled against former First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa in early 2015, concerning a major gold scam involving the state treasury.
Shyamali Priyadarshani Perera, the wife of former Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Vaas Gunawardena, accused Shiranthi Rajapaksa of fraudulently selling a consignment of gold belonging to the National Treasury. The allegations were originally highlighted in a BBC Sinhala report published on January 26, 2015, following a formal complaint lodged with the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC).
Speaking to reporters after filing the complaint, Shyamali Priyadarshani Perera claimed that the Rajapaksa administration retaliated against her husband because he investigated evidence linking the former First Lady to the scam.
“After that, my husband, my son overseas, and I received continuous threats warning us not to disclose anything. They threatened that if we revealed details, my husband would never be released from prison,” Perera stated at the time. She added, “I received death threats, and my house was attacked with bombs.”
Allegations Denied
However, senior police officials firmly denied any involvement by the former First Lady. Anura Senanayake, who served as the Senior DIG of the Western Province during that period, dismissed the claims as false during an interview with the BBC Tamil Service.
“This is clearly false. Her name never came up at any point during this investigation,” Senior DIG Senanayake responded.
While Perera alleged that Senior DIG Senanayake pressured her husband to halt the gold scam investigation—leading to its sudden stoppage—Senanayake rejected this claim. He questioned how nine suspects could be in custody if the investigation had been abandoned.
Attempts by the BBC to contact former First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa or former President Mahinda Rajapaksa for comment regarding the allegations were unsuccessful at the time.
Former DIG Vaas Gunawardena was remanded in custody over his alleged involvement in the abduction and murder of a wealthy businessman.
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