Channelnewsasia: Former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapakse’s chief of staff was indicted Friday (Aug 24) for embezzling millions of dollars from a state insurance firm. A new court set up to investigate major corruption began its work by hearing the case against Rajapakse’s top aide Gamini Senarath and three others accused of siphoning off 500 million rupees (US$3 million). The four took the money during the construction of a hotel in the capital Colombo that was meant to be managed by the Hyatt group, prosecutors said. Sri Lanka’s government announced in May the creation of a special court to accelerate high-profile cases, following criticism of the slow pace of justice since President Maithripala Sirisena came to power in 2015. He had pledged to punish members of the former administration accused of stealing vast sums during Rajapakse’s decade-long rule.
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