Sumathipala remanded in judicial custody

Thilanga Sumathipala, the president of Sri Lanka's cricket board, was remanded in custody on Monday after appearing before a magistrate's court in connection with an alleged passport fraud.

Sumathipala is accused of an involvement with an underworld character called Dhammika Amarasinghe, who allegedly travelled to the 1999 World Cup on a forged passport as a guest of the cricket board, which at the time was headed by Sumathipala.

Sumathipala is alleged to have signed documentation that facilitated Amarasinghe's British visa application and authorised the purchase of £1500 worth of traveller's cheques from a cricket board account.

Amarasinghe, who faced prosecution for a string of contract killings, was killed by an assassin in a Colombo courthouse on Jan 9. The gunman, a former army deserter who was dressed in lawyer's robes, claimed that it was an unrelated revenge attack.

Sumathipala, also the chairman of Sri Lanka Telecom and a high-profile businessman, has furiously contested the allegations throughout, maintaining that he's been the victim of a "vicious, malicious, utterly false and fabricated media campaign."

"The aim of this media campaign has been to defame me, prejudice the general public against me and have me removed as the chairman of Sri Lanka Telecom and as the president of Sri Lanka Cricket."

The scandal broke in September when The Sunday Leader accused Sumathipala of maintaining links with the mafia and plotting the assassination of their editor.

Sumathipala claims that he's being set up, asking in a media statement shortly before being taken into custody: "One might wonder why I am no longer being called a murderer but being accused of what might seem a much lesser offence?"

"The reason is simple," he explained. "Those pursuing this campaign are aware that the only way in which my reputation can be seriously damaged would be by my incarceration before trial without any charge having to be proved against me."

Under the provisions of Immigration and Emigration Act in Sri Lanka a person who is charged must be remanded in custody until the conclusion of the case against him.

He continued: "Thus, even in a system of law that presumes a person to be innocent until proven guilty, my family and I would therefore have to bear the shame and indignity of me being remanded until such time I am granted bail by a higher Court.

Sumathipala remains confident of proving his innocence: "Have done nothing wrong, I have nothing to hide. I have no doubt whatsoever that truth will eventually prevail and my name would be cleared once and for all."

Sumathipala, a director of the International Cricket Council, is one of world cricket's most powerful administrators with strong support in Asia. He had been tipped to be a future ICC president.