Colombo:
A Sri Lankan court on Mondya issued an arrest warrant for General Sarath Fonseka's son-in-law in a multi-million dollar defence scam, spelling more trouble for the defeated opposition presidential candidate who is already detained for treason charges.
The Colombo Fort Magistrate issued an arrest warrant for Dhanuna Tillekaratne over the multi-million dollar Hicorp deal, a defence contract that was awarded when Fonseka was the army chief. The CID meanwhile uncovered Sri Lankan Rs 15 million and USD 5.5 lakh from a safe vault of a private bank in Colombo that belonged to Tillekaratne's mother.
The government has claimed the son-in-law of the common opposition presidential candidate has earned profits from arms procurements of the Army during the war with the LTTE. According to reports, the then Army Commander Fonseka could approve procurement of equipment below the value of Sri Lankan Rs 25 million.
The deal is per se "corrupt" when Fonseka awarded such tenders to Hicorp International Inc of which his son-in-law was President, local media reports said.
Quoting a leading Attorney-at-Law, the Daily News reported that the Government had laid down clear guidelines for the purchase of equipment and it was not "ethical" to sit in a tender board for a person if somebody known to him or one of his relatives is bidding.