The Colombo High Court yesterday (14) issued a warrant for the arrest of National Freedom Front (NFF) leader and former Minister Wimal Weerawansa for failing to appear in court in connection with a case filed by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC).

The court subsequently ordered the recall of the arrest warrant when Weerawansa appeared before the court through his legal counsel. The case pertains to allegations of the unlawful acquisition of assets valued at over Rs. 75 million between January 01, 2009 and December 31, 2014. The CIABOC alleged that Weerawansa had acquired assets amounting to Rs 75 million.

The CIABOC has said that this is an offence punishable under the Asset and Property Act and listed 32 witnesses and 93 articles as evidence.

The charge sheet states that the assets in question include houses, vehicles and money.

The arrest warrant was issued by Colombo High Court Judge Mohamed Mihal.

The judge also directed that notices be served to the defendant’s bail signatories, requiring their presence before the court on the next scheduled hearing.

The CIABOC filed the case in November 2027 during the Yahapalanaya administration.

The nominations for the appointments of three new Ambassadors and a new High Commissioner have been approved by the Committee on High Posts of Parliament.

The Committee on High Posts approved the nomination of Dharshana Mahendra Perera as the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to Malaysia, the nomination of Dassanayake Mudiyanselage Sumith Priyantha Dassanayake as the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Dayani Mendis as the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the Republic of Austria, and for the nomination of Samantha Priyadarshana Weerasinghe Pathirana as the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Romania.

The Credit Information Bureau of Sri Lanka (CRIB) has become the first Corporate Partner of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) for 2026, marking the launch of BASL’s newly introduced Corporate Partner Scheme, the BASL stated.

The text of BASL statement: “The partnership was formalised by signing a Memorandum of Understanding at the BASL Secretariat. The event was attended by Mr. Rajeev Amarasuriya, President of BASL; Mr. Pasindu Silva, Treasurer of BASL; Mr. Pushpike Jayasundera, Director/General Manager of CRIB, Mr. Janaka Lakmal, Deputy General Manager of CRIB, and Ms.Saumya Wijesinghe, Manager Legal of CRIB, together with other office-bearers and officials.

BASL represents over 26,000 legal professionals across 93 regional branches, providing a strong platform to engage legal practitioners nationwide. Through this initiative, CRIB and BASL will conduct in-person awareness programmes and webinars, focusing on credit information systems, CRIB’s services, and the Secured Transactions Registry (STR), in line with CRIB’s national campaign “We Care for Your Credit Health.”

Speaking at the event, President BASL Mr. Rajeev Amarasuriya stated that the Corporate Partner Scheme reflects BASL’s commitment to reach out to different sectors and collaborate in areas of mutual benefit to the respective organisations.

General Manager of CRIB, Mr. Pushpike Jayasundera noted that CRIB sees this as an important opportunity to enhance understanding in the legal sector of credit information and secured transactions.

The inclusion of CRIB as BASL’s first Corporate Partner underscores BASL’s efforts to support a more informed and future-ready legal profession.”