TRO suspects ordered to appear in Court

Chaminda Perera and Ranjith Padmasiri

Colombo: Colombo Additional Magistrate Kumari Abeyratne yesterday ordered the eight suspects who were involved in fundraising for the LTTE through the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) to appear in court on February 03.

The Additional Magistrate issued notices on these suspects after the Criminal Investigation Department informed the Court that they have obtained the Attorney General’s advice to sue these suspects after a complaint by Joe Neville Fernando of the Central Bank’s Financial Intelligence Unit on October 09, 2006 was investigated.

The Judge ordered to issue notices to these suspects through the Jaffna and Mullaitivu Government Agents.

The CID took statements and documents in respect of 113 out of 177 bank accounts that belonged to the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) into their custody and recorded statements from respective Bank officials.

The CID has recorded statements from the suspects. During the investigation, the CID has revealed that Udayan a hardcore LTTE cadre has posed as Krishnamurthi Sugumaran. The Investigators have also found that the Udayan’s photo has been affixed in Sugumaran’s identity card. Udayan a resident of Killinochchi has been identified as the chief of LTTE’s Road Development wing.

The Police have also found that TRO funds have been transferred to an account that belongs to a Socio Economic Development Bank which is not registered in the Central Bank.

It was also revealed that this bank’s Kokkadicholai Branch manager is the brother of LTTE’s Batticaloa leader Kaushalyan. This bank has dispensed a grant of Rs. 4,000 for LTTE’s unmarried cadres, Rs. 6500 for married cadres and Rs. 6500 for kith and kin of those who died during the confrontations. It was also established that these funds for these grants have been derived from the TRO funds.