Charges against Thilini Piyumali and Janaki

Indictments were read out yesterday (11th) at the Colombo High Court against Thilini Priyamali, the owner of Thico Group of Companies, and Janaki Siriwardhana, a director of the company, in connection with the charge of defrauding former Western Province Governor Azath Salley of over 80 million rupees by misleading him. The case was called before Colombo High Court Judge Ms. Lanka Jayaratne, and the two defendants, who had been released on a cash bail of twenty thousand rupees and a personal bail of 1 million rupees, appeared before the court.

Here, former Governor Azath Salley, who appeared as the chief witness for the prosecution under the direction of the State Counsel, gave evidence. He stated that he was prompted to invest money in their company without investigating any other matters, simply because the defendants' business office was located in the World Trade Centre in Colombo and they used expensive luxury vehicles. The witness also mentioned that his trust in them further strengthened when he saw several prominent top-tier businessmen from the country also present at their business premises to invest money during his visits.

Mr. Azath Salley further stated that although he had previously earned significant profits by engaging in the housing and real estate sector, he was completely ruined by investing money in the business activities of these two women. He added that at the time of investing the money, they did not present any specific business plan, nor did they mention a date for providing interest payments, yet he had no suspicion towards them. This case has been filed against the defendants on charges of fraudulently obtaining over 80 million rupees from Mr. Azath Salley between May 30, 2022, and July 30, 2022, in Colombo, and issuing a dishonored cheque worth 5 million rupees.