Former Minister and SLPP national organiser Basil Rajapaksa returned to Sri Lanka on November 20th.
He returns to Sri Lanka after travelling to the United States in early september.
A number of SLPP members including parliamentarians were at the BIA to welcome Rajapaksa who last served as Finance Minister before resigning in June as a SLPP National List MP and to make way for the appointment of business leader Dhammika Perera as a National List MP. Basil quit after Prime Minister Mahinda
Rajapaksa stepped down in May whilst President Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigned in July.
Basil Rajapaksa himself has a history of corruption and embezzlement. A 2007 leaked US embassy cable noted that Basil “worked for the Ministry of Mahaweli Development, where he earned the nickname "Mr. Ten Percent" for demanding a ten percent commission on every project”. “Embassy contacts say Basil has no close advisors and more enemies than friends in Sri Lanka because he makes a habit of trying to "buy people”,” the cable added, noting that at the time “Basil continues to be accused of significant corruption in his current position”.
