A house worth 400 million rupees in Colombo 7 under the name 'Mary Lourdes Wickremesinghe' as per Shiranthi's birth certificate.

A dark political secret, hidden for decades within the walls of a luxurious mansion quietly situated on Torrington Avenue, is now being exposed to the public.

The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption has launched a massive investigation into a mansion valued at over forty crore rupees, located at No. 260/17, Torrington Avenue, Colombo 05. This is not just another property in the heart of Colombo. This land was also the official registered headquarters of the controversial CSN television channel, which was said to have belonged to Yoshitha Rajapaksa in the past.

Although this property was purchased about a decade ago under the name "Mary Lourdes Wickremesinghe," a name never heard in the political arena, it is actually the true name stated on the birth certificate of former First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa. The story dates back to 2001. This house, which was obtained on a rental basis through the intervention of then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe for Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was then the Leader of the Opposition, became the freehold property of the Rajapaksa family after Mahinda Rajapaksa became president. However, what is surprising is that this land, with an enormous value of forty crore rupees, was purchased for an extremely low valuation of thirty-five million rupees.

The former First Lady has not yet provided a proper explanation to the questions raised by the Bribery Commission regarding how such a large amount of wealth was acquired. Even the notary who prepared the relevant deed has confirmed that no money transaction took place in front of him. In this context, Mrs. Shiranthi Rajapaksa states that the son of Nishantha Wickremesinghe, former chairman of SriLankan Airlines, purchased this property from businessman Prabath Nanayakkara with cash and later transferred it to her. However, it is highly doubtful whether such a money exchange actually occurred. The most serious problem behind this subtle transaction is whether this mansion was received by the Rajapaksa family as a bribe, as a benefit for awarding massive state projects, including expressways, to the businessman named Prabath Nanayakkara. Based on the suspicion that commissions from infrastructure projects built with the tax money of the country's people were thus converted into luxurious properties, investigating officers have cast their net.

To expose this mysterious property transaction, the government is now using the newly enacted Proceeds of Crime Act No. 5 of 2025. Under Section 34 (1) of this stringent law, if a property owned by an individual is found not to have been acquired through their legitimate income, the court has the power to presume it was obtained through a crime. The most crucial point is that, according to Section 34 (3) of the Act, the full legal burden of proving that this was acquired through legitimate income now rests with the suspect, Mrs. Shiranthi Rajapaksa. Based on the broad powers granted by Sections 68 (1) and 71 (1) of the Act, investigating officers have already issued orders completely prohibiting the sale or alienation of the Torrington mansion.

Furthermore, this process goes beyond traditional law, which awaits the proof of a criminal case. According to Sections 125 and 126 of the Act, if the defendant fails to establish the legality of this property, the government has the power to confiscate the property without any conviction. The investigation teams have announced that all related facts will be filed before the High Court within the next ninety days, and in accordance with Section 127 (17) of the Act, the property will be taken over by the government at any moment if its legality cannot be proven.

The massive iron gates on Torrington Avenue, which for years symbolized unlimited power and hidden wealth, now show signs of becoming public property in the near future.