Colombo Chief Magistrate Thanuja Lakmali yesterday (March 17) ordered to remand one Manjula Weerasinghe, a director of Smart Win Private Limited, until March 23.
This relates to an incident where an illegal pyramid financial scheme was allegedly conducted under the guise of a Wallapatta cultivation project, defrauding over Rs. 02 billion from over 15,000 individuals.
The company had promised investors triple or quadruple returns in exchange for an initial deposit of Rs. 30,000 per Wallapatta plant.
However, the magistrate ordered to grant bail to two other directors arrested by the CID. They were ordered to be released on three sureties of Rs. 5 million each.
Court was informed by investigation officers that residents in several areas including Kurunegala, Anuradhapura, Puttalam, Anamaduwa, Monaragala, and Ampara, as well as Sri Lankans working overseas have been defrauded in this manner.
The CID also confirmed that the company was operating without legal approval from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, engaging in unauthorized financial activities and violating anti-money laundering laws.
The investigation was launched following complaints lodged with the CID’s Financial Crimes Division by a group including Weerathunga Arachchige Prithi Kostha.
Further investigations are underway.
