News

Trump commutes sentence of major donor who lobbied on behalf of SL

Published

8 months ago

2025/06/17

Imaad Zuberi

President Trump commuted the sentence of Imaad Zuberi, a major political donor who had been sentenced to 12 years in prison for the obstruction of a federal investigation into a Trump inaugural committee donation, falsifying records and a failure to disclose and pay tax on US$5.65 million received from the Sri Lankan government to lobby in Washington to improve its image, The Tamil Guardian reported over the weekend.

The donor, Imaad Zuberi, 54, had been a major supporter of Democrats, including former President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, before shifting his support to Trump after his 2016 victory.

Charges related to his lobbying work in Washington for the government of Sri Lanka, whose image he was trying to repair in Washington amid concerns about the country’s treatment of Tamils and human rights issues. He had received the bulk of the money, over a five-month period, in 2014, in particular a lobbying firm owned by Zuberi received US$2 million from the Sri Lankan government and was tasked with influencing the US government policy on Sri Lanka under the Obama administration, Zuberi himself also a large donor to the former President’s campaign. In total the Sri Lankan government has spent at least $US100 million on US lobbying firms in order to improve the country’s international image. Zuberi had also received unregistered lobbying money from the Qatari and Turkish governments and a Ukrainian oligarch with close ties to Vladimir Putin – as revealed by court documents disclosed by the Associated Press.

Zuberi falsified records with the Justice Department under the Foreign Agents Registration Act to conceal his lobbying for Sri Lanka and diverted most of the money to benefit himself and his wife. Of the estimated US$ 6.5 million paid by Sri Lanka to Zuberi, US$ 5.65 million is thought to have been spent on personal uses.

Zuberi was sentenced in 2021, during the proceeding he was represented by David Warrington, who is now the White House counsel. In addition to the prison term, he was ordered to pay nearly $16 million in restitution and $1.75 million in fines.

Prosecutors depicted Zuberi as “purely a mercenary, funnelling money to whomever he believed would do his bidding” and acting as a gateway for foreign governments to influence U.S. politicians. “This case represents an egregious example of corrupt foreign influence peddling,” the prosecution wrote.

A key aspect of the case, however, has played out in secret court filings and hearings: Zuberi was a longtime US intelligence source for the US government, according to legal documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal and people familiar with the businessman’s defense.

Before sentencing Zuberi, US District Judge Virginia Phillips held a closed-door hearing where she considered a sealed document in which Zuberi’s team laid out his account of more than a decade of clandestine help he had provided to the government. Judge Phillips ultimately sided with the government’s request for a lengthy prison sentence.

Zuberi’s lawyers have argued that some of the conduct he has been charged with was linked to CIA officials who worked with Zuberi. In one instance, according to the documents they prepared, a former CIA handler of Zuberi sought and got a job on the project involving Sri Lanka that was later the basis for criminal charges against Zuberi.

After securing a role in the project, the former handler tried to persuade the Sri Lankans to buy a maritime-surveillance system that could keep watch on a swath of the Indian Ocean, according to two people familiar with the effort. At the time the US government was concerned about Chinese submarine forays. The former handler told consultants on the project that he had worked for the State Department, those people said, but a spokesperson for the Department said it has no record of his employment there.

The Sri Lankan government has previously implicated a DUP MP, Ian Paisley Jr serving under then Prime Minister Theresa May, in a lobbying scandal. He accepted two all-inclusive holidays worth £100,000 from the Sri Lankan government. The trip was funded by the Sri Lankan Ministry of External Affairs and hoped it would help secure trade deals for the state. Ian Paisley Jr, who failed to disclose the trips in the commons register of interests was reported to have had a helicopter provided for him and his family to be taken around the Island during his trips.

All News Advertisement

News

Amendment to the regulations for registration of Subscriber SIM Cards (Subscriber Identity Modules- SIM) and reregistration of subscriber information related to the SIM cards obtained before 02-08-2019

Published

1 hour ago

2026/02/11

Priyan

As per the provisions of the Sri Lanka Telecommunications Act No. 25 of 1991, the regulations for registration of subscriber SIM Cards (Subscriber Identity Modules- SIM) No. 01 of 2019 have
been declared on 02-08-2019 and the aforementioned regulations are only applicable for the SIM cards issued after that date.

Therefore, the information on certain subscribers who registered before 02-08-2019 is not available with the telephone operating companies, which has led to problematic situations in certain law investigation activities.

Further, it has been recognized the necessity of amending the regulations appropriate to the current requirements, including the new provisions relevant to the registration of subscribers between the ages of 16 and 17 and the issuance of SIM
cards for foreigners who come to Sri Lanka.

Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution presented by the President, in his capacity as the Minister of Digital Economy, to introduce new regulations providing the provisions for reregistration of the information of the subscribers who have obtained the SIM cards before 02-08-2019 and amending the currently implemented regulations for registration of Subscriber SIM Cards (Subscriber Identity Modules- SIM) No. 01 of 2019.

News

Police open fire on speeding van in Jaffna: 17-year-old driver killed

Published

4 hours ago

2026/02/11

Sahan Weerasooriya

The van shot by the police

Police are investigating the circumstances under which its men, manning a checkpoint, opened fire on a vehicle, killing a 17-year-old boy in Jaffna, in the early hours of yesterday (10).

Police said that they opened fire at a van that ignored orders to stop at the checkpoint. The dead youth was identified as Albino Arul Bias, a resident of Vaddukoddai. Bias was identified as the driver of the vehicle.

Sources said that the incident happened at a checkpoint at the Alaipiddy junction, along the Jaffna–Urkavalthurai road.

After the vehicle was brought to a stop, the teenage boy, who had been inside, was found to have sustained critical gunshot injuries. He was subsequently transported to the Jaffna Teaching Hospital for emergency treatment. Despite medical intervention, he later succumbed to his injuries.

Two other individuals, who were inside the vehicle, have been taken into custody by police. Authorities have stated that one of those arrested is from the Vaddukoddai area, while the other is from Nallur.

Assistant Superintendent of Police, Attorney-at-Law, F. U. Wootler said that the men had no option but to open fire as they were suspicious of the vehicle. “The incident happened around 1 am in the morning and their failure to heed the police order couldn’t be justified under any circumstances,” the spokesman said (SF)

News

HRCSL employee protests demanding justice, takes swipe at Presidential Secretariat

Published

4 hours ago

2026/02/11

Sahan Weerasooriya

Ayanthini Shiromini protests opposite HRCSL main office at R.A. de Mel Mawatha yesterday (10) pic by Nishan S. Priyantha

‘There is no basis for her accusations’- HRCSL

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Permanent employee of Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) Ayanthini Shiromini yesterday (10) protested outside its main office at No 14, R.A. de Mel Mawatha, formerly Duplication road, in a bid to draw the attention of the Presidential Secretariat to her plight.

At the protest site, Shiromini told The Island that she had been relentlessly targeted since 2018 and the situation took a turn for worse in 2023 over her protest against the appointment of a particular member to an internal interview board and an incident pertaining to a complaint lodged against the then IGP Deshabandu Tennakoon.

Responding to a query regarding the 2018 developments, Shiromini said that she met with a near fatal accident in 2014 while engaged in official duty and depended on crutches for eight years and was recommended by a medical board to grant the opportunity for suitable work. Mother of two and post graduate social science in Kelaniya University and human rights at the Colombo University alleged that the HRCSL changed her status regardless of the recommendation made by the medical board.

Having failed to convince the top HRCSL administration to treat her fairly, Shiromi said that she sought the intervention of the Presidential Secretariat in late July 2025 to rectify the problems experienced by her.

She alleged that the Presidential Secretariat sided with the HRCSL and did absolutely nothing. “Instead of taking remedial measures, the Presidential Secretariat sent the file submitted by me against the HRCSL top management back to them. They shouldn’t have done that,” Shiromini said.

Shiromini staged a protest opposite HRCSL main office on the world human rights day on Dec 10, last year to highlight what she called injustice done to her by the HRCSL and the Presidential Secretariat. Shiromi said that she called off the protest after receiving an assurance from the Presidential Secretariat that two committees would be appointed to inquire into issues raised by her. “I had no option but to protest again as the Presidential Secretariat did nothing to address her grievances.”

A top spokesperson for HRCSL said that her allegations didn’t hold legal weight. The Parliamentary Ombudsman inquired into her accusations and the HRCSL fully explained the developments since the 2014 accident that took place in the Balangoda area.

The official said that after the accident she was granted the opportunity to work from home and other relief. “But we couldn’t have continued with the same indefinitely and she reacted angrily after a decision was made to treat her like a normal employee after the recovery,” the official said.

Shiromini has served the HRCSL since 2005. The official strongly denied allegations that Shiromini had been mistreated and harassed by a section of the HRCSL staff. “Of course, there had been a series of clashes with other employees and incidents provoked by the disgruntled worker but the HRCSL tried to address the issues in a systematic way,” the official said.

The official alleged that Shiromini exploited the post-Aragalaya situation for her advantage.

Shiromini said that she intended to continue the protest until the Presidential Secretariat ordered an investigation into the conduct of HRCSL top management. In a lengthy letter addressed to members of parliament, Shiromini named the Presidential Secretariat personnel who mishandled her case.

The HRCSL official said that in spite of her being a long-standing employee of the institution she seemed to be unaware that the President couldn’t appoint a committee to inquire into the HRCSL. “We do not have anything to hide,” the official said, calling the lone protester a quarrelsome employee.