Bail granted to Land Registrar accused of aiding organised crime

A land registrar arrested for allegedly aiding and abetting organised crime by leaking state records to external parties was released on two surety bails of Rs.1 million each.

Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama issued the order today following submissions by the Criminal Investigation Department.

The court imposed a foreign travel ban on the suspect, and the judicial registrar received instructions to forward the directive to the Controller General of Immigration and Emigration.

Further scrutiny awaits her former colleagues, as the Magistrate ordered the Criminal Investigation Department to investigate and submit a report on the bank and telephone records of other witnesses employed at the registry.

The suspect is also strictly barred from entering the premises of the Colombo Registrar's Office.

This crackdown followed an arrest by the Financial and Commercial Crimes Investigation Division's Unit 02, where the suspect provided a statement after a complaint reached the Criminal Investigation Department.

Investigators informed the court that preliminary inquiries revealed that during her tenure as the Colombo Land Registrar, she conspired to aid organised crime by supplying folios, volumes, and duplicate deed copies to outsiders, enabling the fraudulent disposal of properties from their rightful owners.

The investigating officers noted that the suspect was produced before court for offences under sections 109 and 113, read alongside sections 113(b) and 158 of the Penal Code, as well as offences under the Offences Against Public Property Act.

The case is scheduled for another hearing tomorrow.