The Colombo High Court today (24) acquitted former Minister Udaya Gammanpila and businessman Sydney Jayasinghe of charges related to the alleged criminal misappropriation of Rs. 21 million.
The charges stemmed from accusations that they had sold shares of a company owned by Australian businessman Brian Shaddick using a fraudulent Power of Attorney.
After a lengthy trial, Colombo High Court Judge Namal Bandara Balalle delivered the verdict, stating that the defendants will be acquitted and released as the prosecution had failed to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.
The Attorney General had filed this case against former Minister Udaya Gammanpila and businessman Sydney Jayasinghe during the ‘Yahapalana’ (Good Governance) Government.
The prosecution alleged that between September 26, 1996, and September 25, 1997, the former Minister had purchased 21 million shares of a private bank under the name of Digital Nominees Private Limited, a company owned by Australian businessman Brian Shaddick, thereby misappropriating Rs. 21 million through the sale of shares using a forged Power of Attorney.
