Defrauded 8.5 million by impersonating a Deputy Director of the Central Bank.

Kurunegala Additional Magistrate Maheeshani Amunugama ordered the release of a woman, accused of defrauding a person of Rs. 8.5 million by impersonating a Deputy Director of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, on two certified bails of Rs. 2.5 million each. The Magistrate also imposed a travel ban on her, stipulating that the sureties must be close relatives of the suspect and must prove their residency.

The person released on bail is a 52-year-old woman residing in Senarathgama, Katugastota. Her husband is a high-ranking officer at the Aladeniya Police, and the complaint regarding this incident was filed by a resident of Chaminda Kumara Mawatha, Wewala, Kurunegala.

The suspect deceived the complainant by claiming that the Central Bank offers large cash prizes to successful entrepreneurs and that an advance payment must be invested to receive these prizes. She promised that the prize money would be received within a month of the advance payment. Police investigations have revealed that letters resembling Central Bank letterheads and rubber stamps were even used for this fraudulent activity.

The complainant, who fell victim to this deception, deposited Rs. 8.5 million into the bank account provided by the suspect on several occasions in 2025. However, realizing that no prize money was received as promised, the complainant understood that he had been defrauded and filed a complaint with the Kurunegala Special Crimes Investigation Unit. Following this, the police arrested the suspect and presented her to the court, after which she was released on bail.

When the case was recalled on the 16th, the police objected to granting bail. The police requested the court to remand the suspect, stating that there were ongoing cases against her at the Criminal Investigation Department as well as the Kandy Police. However, Senior Counsel Keerthi G. Dunusinghe, appearing for the suspect, pointed out that an accused can only be remanded if the imposed bail conditions are violated, and that the police had not even presented a case number related to the other charges they claimed. Considering the facts presented, the Additional Magistrate ordered the suspect to remain on previous bail and scheduled the case to be recalled on November 18th.