Now an advisor to a top state institution, Jayaweera is to go abroad on official duty in the coming week.

The particular senior state official is pressuring that his leaving the country should not be opposed at courts, say police headquarters sources.

The Attorney General’s Department has ordered the FCID to enforce the law against Jayaweera, who had been the director general of the Tourism Promotion Authority during the previous regime.

Courts have barred him from leaving the country over a FCID investigation into allegations he had given Rs. five million of TPA money to Pevidi Handa to hold a Bodhi Pooja on the day before the 8 January 2015 presidential election.

Muruttettuwa Ananda Thera heads Pevidi Handa.

The FCID investigation report has been sent to the AG’s Department.

Previously too, the AG had ordered the FCID to arrest Jayaweera and four directors of the TPA, but the prime minister’s office had prevented that from happening.

One of the other accused, Hema Premawardena is presently a senior officer at the PM’s office.

After retiring from the finance ministry, Jayaweera got appointed by the Rajapaksa as DG of the TPA.

Before the last presidential polls, he carried out an opinion survey along with Colombo University’s Dr. Lalithasiri Gunaruwan, the result of which was widely publicized and according to which Maithripala Sirisena would have claimed 53 per cent of the votes.

After the present government took over, he was appointed chairman of the National Transport Commission.