With the #LKA Twittersphere lit by the latest @nimalhperera corruption scandal it’s important to remember that the investigations & court documents extensively relied upon by @4corners was filed by FCID officers.
They are the unsung heroes of the Lankan scandal du jour. 🧵
From 2015-2019 Rajapaksas & their cronies mercilessly attacked FCID as an unconstitutional police unit conducting politicized corruption investigations. Should have been obvious why. The FCID was following the money and making the Rajapaksa Family & collectors very nervous 1/9
FCID investigations into @nimalhperera dodgy dealings with Krrish Holdings, Airbus and the Hambantota District Hospital led to the now infamous Sabre Vision Holdings. FCID investigators sought and obtained the Company records from British Virgin Islands and Singapore. #LKA 2/9
FCID learned @nimalhperera was sole beneficiary of Sabre Vision Holdings, linked Airbus, Krrish & Aspen Medical payments totalling 4.3 mn euro to his SVH account. Then followed the money to Gower Street properties No 7 & 7/1 that Perera purchased & @RajapaksaNamal "leased" 3/9
Then the FCID took these findings to the Fort Magistrate. FCID findings in the corruption probe led to @RajapaksaNamal's arrest for alleged money-laundering & prevented his entry into the US. At the time the probe was dismissed by @PodujanaParty as a political witchhunt. 4/9
The @4corners + @ABCTV investigation into Aspen Medical payments to Nimal Perera’s shady company draws entirely on FCID B reports filed before the Fort Magistrate’s Court in Colombo. #LKA 5/9
Complex financial probes require a certain type of detective. Officers working on FCID cases including Airbus/MiG deals were meticulous and detail-oriented, trained in ferreting out white-collar criminals, poring over accounting documents & studying money networks. #LKA 6/9
When @GotabayaR became president in 2019 the FCID team became black sheep of the police-threatened & intimidated, given punishment transfers, denied increments & promotions. The best and brightest in the #SriLanka Police, hunted and persecuted by the Rajapaksas and cronies. 7/9
If memory serves the legacy media cheerfully propagated the anti-FCID narrative introduced and promoted by the Rajapaksas, and the people lapped it up – eventually reinstalling a corrupt ruling family in office and allowing its crony criminal network to run free. #LKA 8/9
So spare a thought today for FCID officers, now languishing in the darkest corners of the police dept, whose investigations made these revelations possible on Australian national TV. Congratulations to @4corners for distilling FCID’s complex reports into a compelling story. 9/9
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💥Shani Abeysekara's FR is earth shattering. He exposed how far SIS and DMI went to protect Zahran and the NTJ, and the extent to which they tried to keep the CID off their scent. No wonder @GotabayaR wants to silence Shani. He knows too much. Read for yourself 👇
💥 In December 2018, during the 52-day coup when the Rajapaksas ran the MoD (and the NTJ attacks began), SIS and DMI planted evidence and falsely framed the LTTE to throw the CID off of the scent of Zahran and the NTJ.
💥On Easter Sunday, DMI intelligence officers were at the home of the Dehiwala Tropical Inn bomber Jamil *before* he blew himself up, but they hid their knowledge of Jamil and relationship with him and the NTJ from the CID for "national security" reasons
🚨<long...> Defence Ministry has activated Israeli "Pegasus" spyware on all Lankan telecom networks. Same tech used by the Saudis to hack @JeffBezos. This allows them to try hacking into most Android or iOS devices, especially on @dialoglk & @MobitelSriLanka who are cooperating.
This is flagrantly illegal under both the Telecommunications Act and Computer Crimes Act but they don't care. The target list includes the phones of lawyers, activists, journalists, judges, some retired cops and even senior Cabinet members seen as disloyal to @GotabayaR.
Lankan phones can be penetrated when MoD sends a dangerous link pretending to come from Dialog or Mobitel (with their consent). If you are a target, do not trust or open any message from Dialog or Mobitel. So far Hutch and Airtel refuse to send fake messages to their customers.