The once-powerful Gotabhaya Rajapakse - whose brother Mahinda ruled Sri Lanka from 2005-15 - and six of his officials were read the 12-page charge sheet at a special court which was set up this year to expedite high profile corruption cases. The government created the special court in May following criticism of the slow pace of handling cases from Rajapakse's controversial decade of rule that ended in January 2015. Last month, the court charged the former president's chief of staff with embezzling millions of dollars from a state insurance firm. Mahinda Rajapakse's top civil servant, Lalith Weeratunga, has been convicted of misappropriating $4 million and sentenced to three years in prison. Two of the former president's three sons have also been charged with money-laundering and other relatives face corruption allegations.

Source: Dhaka Tribune September 10, 2018 10:07 UTC