Offense or No Offense? The Wasantha Files Take a Twist

So here we are again — another day, another courtroom buzz, and another round of whispers swirling around Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe.

This time, the chatter wasn’t about his loud speeches or the crypto whispers that had Colombo’s cocktail circuit buzzing. No, this was about something far more brick-and-mortar: a two-storied building on a coconut estate said to belong to the National Workers Institute.

The allegation? That a forged tax deed was drawn up, with a tidy little Rs. 30 lakhs in taxes paid off — fraudulently, claim the complainants. Cue the headlines, cue the gossip.

But in the cool confines of Mount Lavinia Magistrate’s Court, Magistrate Pasan Amarasekara wasn’t buying the drama today. A request to arrest and remand Samarasinghe, trade unionist Mahinda Jayasinghe, and Kaduwela Mayor Ranjan Jayalal was firmly rejected.

Why? Because the Colombo Fraud Investigation Unit has so far failed to dig up enough meat to prove a criminal offense. The case file had already been parked with the Attorney General back in February for “legal guidance,” and apparently, the guidance has been: not enough fire beneath the smoke — yet.

Still, the tongues wag. Is this a case of “no offense” or simply “no evidence — for now”?

Either way, the Minister walks free today. But in Colombo’s gossip corridors, people are already placing bets: will the file quietly gather dust, or will new “evidence” suddenly surface when the politics turn hotter?

One thing’s for sure: in the land of coconut estates and crypto chatter, nothing ever truly disappears.