Rajapaksa son issued travel ban

Yoshitha Rajapaksa, son of Sri Lanka's ex-president, banned from leaving over money laundering.

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COLOMBO:

The son of Sri Lanka's former president Mahinda Rajapaksa was banned Monday from leaving the island nation following his arrest for alleged money laundering.

The case against Yoshitha Rajapaksa dates back years, but has received renewed impetus since President Anura Kumara Dissanayake -- who has vowed to fight endemic corruption -- won a landslide election victory.

Several members of the powerful Rajapaksa family and close associates have been charged with an array of offences over the years, including corruption and even murder -- all of which are still pending in the courts.

A former junior naval officer, Yoshitha Rajapaksa, 36, was hit with the travel ban after police said he was unable to explain the sources of income used to purchase a home while his father was in power from 2005 to 2015.

He was arrested and spent two days in detention before being released Monday by a magistrate in Colombo on a bond of 100 million rupees ($344,000).

Yoshitha had told investigators that he raised money to buy the property by selling a small bag of gems his grand-aunt had given him.