Man arrested in Sri Lanka for allegedly forging signature of Gotabaya Rajapaksa

A man has been reportedly arrested in Sri Lanka for allegedly forging the signature of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and misusing Presidential letterheads. According to a local Sir Lankan media outlet, the suspect produced a letter to the Chairman of Bank of Cylon on a Presidential letterhead with Rajapaksa’s forged signature. 

As per reports, in the letter, the man requested the bank to reinstate him with his salary, allowances and a promotion. The bank authorities, upon finding that the President’s signature had been forged, summoned the person to headquarters after which he was arrested by the police. The officials also seized the laptop and other accessories used by the suspect to prepare the forged documents. The Criminal Investigation Department reportedly also said that the suspect has been remanded until June 8 after being produced in court. 

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Sri Lanka’s economy hit by COVID-19 

The case comes after the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis dented Sri Lanka’s economy. According to a media report, the pandemic has caused a steep fall in the earnings from tourism, remittances and outflow of foreign investment. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka reportedly said that country is facing the worst financial crisis in its history due to the economic and travel curbs imposed after the outbreak. 

The central bank said that the Sri Lankan rupee had also depreciated significantly with the outbreak of coronavirus "during the latter part of March up to mid-April, reaching a peak of rupees 199.75 per US dollar on April 9”. Moreover, with the outbreak, the government had introduced imports control measures by almost banning all non-essential imports, a move widely seen to bring in rupee's stability by preserving foreign reserves. As per reports, Sri Lanka's economy has in general been impacted since last year when the country was jolted by the Easter Sunday attacks. 

(Inputs: PTI; Image: Pixabay) (Representative image)

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