• Latest
  • Trending
The Ambassador, His Swanky New Embassy and the Limits of Diplomatic Immunity

The Ambassador, His Swanky New Embassy and the Limits of Diplomatic Immunity

July 24, 2022
Giant leatherback sea turtle washes up on Panadura beach

Giant leatherback sea turtle washes up on Panadura beach

June 3, 2023
Death toll from fatal train crash in India climbs over 230

Death toll from fatal train crash in India climbs over 230

June 3, 2023
Rain. Image credits - Max Bender @maxwbender / Unsplash

Southwest monsoon to gradually establish across Sri Lanka

June 3, 2023
Myanmar soldiers refusing to fight

Myanmar soldiers refusing to fight

June 3, 2023
Rahul Gandhi’s speech at Stanford University

Rahul Gandhi’s speech at Stanford University

June 3, 2023
Alien

Scientists expand search for signs of intelligent alien life

June 3, 2023
Imports. Image credits - Paul Teysen @hooverpaul55 / Unsplash

Import restrictions on nearly 400 items to be relaxed

June 2, 2023
Brazil former President Fernando Collor de Mello

Brazil’s former president sentenced to almost 9 years in prison for corruption

June 2, 2023
President says Sri Lanka will be a thriving nation by 2048

President says Sri Lanka will be a thriving nation by 2048

June 2, 2023
The Social Progress Imperative Report 2022— India has its work cut out for it

The Social Progress Imperative Report 2022— India has its work cut out for it

June 2, 2023
Barkha Dutt interviews Milinda Moragoda, Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner in India for Mojo

Barkha Dutt interviews Milinda Moragoda, Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner in India for Mojo

June 2, 2023
Fish. Image credits - Sebastian Pena Lambarri / Unsplash

Fish moving to colder waters to survive

June 1, 2023
  • About Us
  • Advertisements
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
Saturday, June 3, 2023
No Result
View All Result
NewsIn.Asia
  • Home
  • Around South Asia
    • All
    • Afghanistan
    • Bangladesh
    • Bhutan
    • China
    • India
    • Maldives
    • Myanmar
    • Nepal
    • Pakistan
    • Sri Lanka
    Giant leatherback sea turtle washes up on Panadura beach

    Giant leatherback sea turtle washes up on Panadura beach

    Death toll from fatal train crash in India climbs over 230

    Death toll from fatal train crash in India climbs over 230

    Rain. Image credits - Max Bender @maxwbender / Unsplash

    Southwest monsoon to gradually establish across Sri Lanka

    Myanmar soldiers refusing to fight

    Myanmar soldiers refusing to fight

    Rahul Gandhi’s speech at Stanford University

    Rahul Gandhi’s speech at Stanford University

    Imports. Image credits - Paul Teysen @hooverpaul55 / Unsplash

    Import restrictions on nearly 400 items to be relaxed

    President says Sri Lanka will be a thriving nation by 2048

    President says Sri Lanka will be a thriving nation by 2048

    The Social Progress Imperative Report 2022— India has its work cut out for it

    The Social Progress Imperative Report 2022— India has its work cut out for it

    Barkha Dutt interviews Milinda Moragoda, Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner in India for Mojo

    Barkha Dutt interviews Milinda Moragoda, Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner in India for Mojo

  • World
    • All
    • Japan
    • Russia
    • United Kingdom
    • United States
    Rahul Gandhi’s speech at Stanford University

    Rahul Gandhi’s speech at Stanford University

    Alien

    Scientists expand search for signs of intelligent alien life

    Brazil former President Fernando Collor de Mello

    Brazil’s former president sentenced to almost 9 years in prison for corruption

    Fish. Image credits - Sebastian Pena Lambarri / Unsplash

    Fish moving to colder waters to survive

    Flight

    World’s best airline for 2023 named by AirlineRatings.com

    Mars

    Mars bar plastic wrapper swapped for paper

    Recep Tayyip Erdogan

    Erdogan wins Turkish election, extending rule to third decade

    Lankan President’s Japan visit will have a salutary effect on relationship

    Lankan President’s Japan visit will have a salutary effect on relationship

    Joe Biden’s advisers say he doesn’t want to drag Pacific allies into ‘headlong clash’ between US and China

    Joe Biden’s advisers say he doesn’t want to drag Pacific allies into ‘headlong clash’ between US and China

  • Business
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
    • All
    • Books
    • Gaming
    • Movie
    • Music
    • Series
    Samahan

    Amitabh Bachchan expresses confidence for Sri Lankan herbal drink Samahan

    ‘Money Back Guarantee’ to mark cinematic debut of cricketing legend Wasim Akram and wife Shaniera

    ‘Money Back Guarantee’ to mark cinematic debut of cricketing legend Wasim Akram and wife Shaniera

    The gran who couldn’t: Indu Balachandran’s latest book is for readers of all ages

    The gran who couldn’t: Indu Balachandran’s latest book is for readers of all ages

    The Weeknd

    The Weeknd is the world’s most popular artist, Guinness World Records says

    Naatu Naatu has millions of views on YouTube and is a viral sensation over social media

    Watch: Oscar winning song Naatu Naatu

    Naatu Naatu has millions of views on YouTube and is a viral sensation over social media

    Indian song ‘Naatu Naatu’ from ‘RRR’ wins Oscar award for best song

    Naatu Naatu has millions of views on YouTube and is a viral sensation over social media

    Naatu Naatu: The RRR song primed for Oscar history

    Keanu Reeves

    11 of the best films to watch in March

    Netflix. Image credits - Souvik Banerjee @rswebsols / Unsplash

    Netflix cuts prices for subscribers in more than 30 countries

  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Health
    • Science
    • Travel
    Alien

    Scientists expand search for signs of intelligent alien life

    Fish. Image credits - Sebastian Pena Lambarri / Unsplash

    Fish moving to colder waters to survive

    Mars

    Mars bar plastic wrapper swapped for paper

    Emirates

    All Emirates passengers can now avail of free Wi-Fi connectivity onboard

    Exercise. Image credits - Victor Freitas @victorfreitas / Unsplash

    5 healthy habits that are easy to add to your day

    Global concern over babies born too soon

    Global concern over babies born too soon

    Nigerian chef Hilda Effiong Bassey

    Nigerian chef cooks for 100 hours in world record attempt

    Batik Air

    Batik Air reinstates daily services between Colombo and Kuala Lumpur

    Confucius tells us how to set ourselves free with ritual

    Confucius tells us how to set ourselves free with ritual

    Sri Lankans enjoy a walk in the beach

    My trip to Sri Lanka restored faith in fellow humans: Australian tourist

    Trending Tags

    • Golden Globes
    • Mr. Robot
    • MotoGP 2017
    • Climate Change
    • Flat Earth
  • Tech
    Whatsapp

    WhatsApp introduces new feature to edit sent messages

    WhatsApp

    WhatsApp will allow users to lock and hide conversations

    Whatsapp. Image credits - AARN GIRI / Unsplash

    WhatsApp announces multi-device feature to support more than one phone

    Apple store in Mumbai

    Apple says ‘Hello Mumbai’ at first India store launch

    WhatsApp

    WhatsApp to introduce five new features in 2023 

    OpenAI has created ChatGPT, a start-up focused on artificial intelligence and its potential use cases. (Image source: OpenAI)

    ChatGPT banned in Italy over privacy concerns

    Trending Tags

    • Sillicon Valley
    • Climate Change
    • Election Results
    • Flat Earth
    • Golden Globes
    • MotoGP 2017
    • Mr. Robot
  • Coronavirus
  • Videos
  • Home
  • Around South Asia
    • All
    • Afghanistan
    • Bangladesh
    • Bhutan
    • China
    • India
    • Maldives
    • Myanmar
    • Nepal
    • Pakistan
    • Sri Lanka
    Giant leatherback sea turtle washes up on Panadura beach

    Giant leatherback sea turtle washes up on Panadura beach

    Death toll from fatal train crash in India climbs over 230

    Death toll from fatal train crash in India climbs over 230

    Rain. Image credits - Max Bender @maxwbender / Unsplash

    Southwest monsoon to gradually establish across Sri Lanka

    Myanmar soldiers refusing to fight

    Myanmar soldiers refusing to fight

    Rahul Gandhi’s speech at Stanford University

    Rahul Gandhi’s speech at Stanford University

    Imports. Image credits - Paul Teysen @hooverpaul55 / Unsplash

    Import restrictions on nearly 400 items to be relaxed

    President says Sri Lanka will be a thriving nation by 2048

    President says Sri Lanka will be a thriving nation by 2048

    The Social Progress Imperative Report 2022— India has its work cut out for it

    The Social Progress Imperative Report 2022— India has its work cut out for it

    Barkha Dutt interviews Milinda Moragoda, Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner in India for Mojo

    Barkha Dutt interviews Milinda Moragoda, Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner in India for Mojo

  • World
    • All
    • Japan
    • Russia
    • United Kingdom
    • United States
    Rahul Gandhi’s speech at Stanford University

    Rahul Gandhi’s speech at Stanford University

    Alien

    Scientists expand search for signs of intelligent alien life

    Brazil former President Fernando Collor de Mello

    Brazil’s former president sentenced to almost 9 years in prison for corruption

    Fish. Image credits - Sebastian Pena Lambarri / Unsplash

    Fish moving to colder waters to survive

    Flight

    World’s best airline for 2023 named by AirlineRatings.com

    Mars

    Mars bar plastic wrapper swapped for paper

    Recep Tayyip Erdogan

    Erdogan wins Turkish election, extending rule to third decade

    Lankan President’s Japan visit will have a salutary effect on relationship

    Lankan President’s Japan visit will have a salutary effect on relationship

    Joe Biden’s advisers say he doesn’t want to drag Pacific allies into ‘headlong clash’ between US and China

    Joe Biden’s advisers say he doesn’t want to drag Pacific allies into ‘headlong clash’ between US and China

  • Business
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
    • All
    • Books
    • Gaming
    • Movie
    • Music
    • Series
    Samahan

    Amitabh Bachchan expresses confidence for Sri Lankan herbal drink Samahan

    ‘Money Back Guarantee’ to mark cinematic debut of cricketing legend Wasim Akram and wife Shaniera

    ‘Money Back Guarantee’ to mark cinematic debut of cricketing legend Wasim Akram and wife Shaniera

    The gran who couldn’t: Indu Balachandran’s latest book is for readers of all ages

    The gran who couldn’t: Indu Balachandran’s latest book is for readers of all ages

    The Weeknd

    The Weeknd is the world’s most popular artist, Guinness World Records says

    Naatu Naatu has millions of views on YouTube and is a viral sensation over social media

    Watch: Oscar winning song Naatu Naatu

    Naatu Naatu has millions of views on YouTube and is a viral sensation over social media

    Indian song ‘Naatu Naatu’ from ‘RRR’ wins Oscar award for best song

    Naatu Naatu has millions of views on YouTube and is a viral sensation over social media

    Naatu Naatu: The RRR song primed for Oscar history

    Keanu Reeves

    11 of the best films to watch in March

    Netflix. Image credits - Souvik Banerjee @rswebsols / Unsplash

    Netflix cuts prices for subscribers in more than 30 countries

  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Health
    • Science
    • Travel
    Alien

    Scientists expand search for signs of intelligent alien life

    Fish. Image credits - Sebastian Pena Lambarri / Unsplash

    Fish moving to colder waters to survive

    Mars

    Mars bar plastic wrapper swapped for paper

    Emirates

    All Emirates passengers can now avail of free Wi-Fi connectivity onboard

    Exercise. Image credits - Victor Freitas @victorfreitas / Unsplash

    5 healthy habits that are easy to add to your day

    Global concern over babies born too soon

    Global concern over babies born too soon

    Nigerian chef Hilda Effiong Bassey

    Nigerian chef cooks for 100 hours in world record attempt

    Batik Air

    Batik Air reinstates daily services between Colombo and Kuala Lumpur

    Confucius tells us how to set ourselves free with ritual

    Confucius tells us how to set ourselves free with ritual

    Sri Lankans enjoy a walk in the beach

    My trip to Sri Lanka restored faith in fellow humans: Australian tourist

    Trending Tags

    • Golden Globes
    • Mr. Robot
    • MotoGP 2017
    • Climate Change
    • Flat Earth
  • Tech
    Whatsapp

    WhatsApp introduces new feature to edit sent messages

    WhatsApp

    WhatsApp will allow users to lock and hide conversations

    Whatsapp. Image credits - AARN GIRI / Unsplash

    WhatsApp announces multi-device feature to support more than one phone

    Apple store in Mumbai

    Apple says ‘Hello Mumbai’ at first India store launch

    WhatsApp

    WhatsApp to introduce five new features in 2023 

    OpenAI has created ChatGPT, a start-up focused on artificial intelligence and its potential use cases. (Image source: OpenAI)

    ChatGPT banned in Italy over privacy concerns

    Trending Tags

    • Sillicon Valley
    • Climate Change
    • Election Results
    • Flat Earth
    • Golden Globes
    • MotoGP 2017
    • Mr. Robot
  • Coronavirus
  • Videos
NewsIn.Asia
No Result
View All Result
Home Diplomacy

The Ambassador, His Swanky New Embassy and the Limits of Diplomatic Immunity

Editor by Editor
July 24, 2022
in Diplomacy, Sri Lanka, United States
Reading Time: 7 mins read
5 1
A A
The Ambassador, His Swanky New Embassy and the Limits of Diplomatic Immunity

Sri Lankan embassy in Washington

Share on WhatsApp

By Michael Schaffer

July 22 (Politico): The U.S. is doing a small developing country’s dirty work in prosecuting its ex-ambassador for fraud, and it may eventually be cause for discomfort along Embassy Row.

In normal cases, for a foreign diplomat with an instinct for pilfering from their own government, Washington represents a safe posting. Far from home, entertainment expenses can be padded, real estate prices exaggerated, lobbying and PR-consultant fees manipulated. The only thing the bean-counters back at the foreign ministry need to know is that the American capital is an expensive place. Thanks to diplomatic immunity, whatever workplace scams get cooked up are unlikely to interest the local authorities here.

ADVERTISEMENT

Still, an unusual proceeding that quietly concluded in a federal courtroom this week suggests there are limits, even with immunity.

The case of former Sri Lankan Ambassador Jaliya Wickramasuriya, who pleaded guilty to defrauding his own government out of $332,000, has gotten significant play in his crisis-stricken home country, where anti-corruption protests this month ousted the president. One of the major complaints against the now-former leader (and his brother, another former president; and their brother, the just-ousted finance minister; and their other brother, a former speaker of parliament) was that they filled the government with crooked relatives.

Case in point: The ex-ambassador, a cousin.

In the Sri Lankan press, the fact that the scam had to be prosecuted by the U.S. government — rather than by the government the ambassador actually cheated — has become a sad part of the larger narrative about nepotism and corruption in the nearly two decades that members of the extended Rajapaksa family have dominated national politics.

Sri Lanka’s former president Mahinda Rajapaksa (2L) who was appointed new country’s Prime Minister and his brother, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa (L) interact with former prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe (R) and former president Maithripala Sirisena

But in Washington, where the proceedings drew almost no coverage, a foreign envoy facing the American judicial system for stealing from his own treasury is actually a novel phenomenon, and potentially an important one — a spectacle that’s highly unconventional both as a matter of international law and international relations. In addition to offering a rare peek behind embassy walls, the Justice Department’s case against the envoy might just represent a cautionary precedent for future would-be diplomatic chislers.

“It’s extremely unusual,” says Anthony C.E. Quainton, a retired U.S. ambassador and former Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security. “Most governments are reluctant to surrender their officials to the jurisdiction of another country whose legal system they may or may not approve of. That’s certainly the case with us.”

How this particular diplomat wound up facing a potential five years in federal prison is a twisting saga that involves politics in both countries. It begins in 2005, when nationalist politician Mahinda Rajapaksa was elected president of Sri Lanka and promptly began naming relatives to top posts. One of them was Wickramasuriya, then an Atlanta resident who ran a tea-import business. In 2008, he became his country’s ambassador in Washington.

Former Sri Lankan Ambassador Jaliya Wickramasuriya — pictured here with his wife, Priyanda, at a 2013 Washington D.C. event — pleaded guilty to defrauding his own government out of $332,000. | Timmester Photography

The swindle, as laid out in the federal indictment and the subsequent guilty plea, took place a few years later, in 2013. The embassy was looking to move out of its townhouse on Wyoming Avenue in Kalorama. Not unusually for a small country, the ambassador himself was intimately involved in the search. Working with a local real estate agent, he found a more suitable property just off Embassy Row, a few doors down Whitehaven Street from Bill and Hillary Clinton. The price was about $6.2 million. But by the time Sri Lankan taxpayers got the bill, it was north of $6.5 million. At closing, Wickramasuriya asked for suspiciously large checks to be cut for entities in Washington and Sri Lanka that, as far as anyone knew, had nothing to do with the purchase. Alarm bells went off.

Sri Lankan Embassy

Working with a real estate agent, Wickramasuriya found a more suitable property for the Sri Lankan embassy just off Embassy Row, a few doors down Whitehaven Street from Bill and Hillary Clinton. The price was about $6.2 million. But by the time Sri Lankan taxpayers got the bill, it was north of $6.5 million.

Things unraveled pretty quickly. Repeated blunderous attempts to get the title company to cut a $250,000 check to the Sri Lankan business caught the attention of authorities in both countries, who found it suspicious that the ambassador was using his personal email to direct payments. The ambassador hastily repaid the money. It was too late: Fraud is still fraud even if the loot has been returned. The Sri Lankan government, embarrassed, withdrew him as ambassador, which was welcome news at the State Department. (Losing the Washington gig wasn’t much of a punishment: According to a former senior Sri Lankan diplomat, his presidential cousin then tried to send him as envoy to Canada, something the Canadians refused.)

It all might have ended there, but in 2015, there was an election in Sri Lanka. And, in a surprise upset, the Rajapaksas’ party lost.

With the ex-ambassador’s patron out of power, investigators from both countries circled. Agents from Homeland Security Investigations traveled to Sri Lanka to work with that country’s Financial Crimes Investigation Division. Based on information shared by the Americans, he was arrested in Colombo, the capital, where he faced Sri Lankan corruption charges. But with the charges still pending, he managed to use his green card to return to the United States, ostensibly for medical treatment following a heart attack. He never went back home. The case was stranded.

Or was it? American prosecutors still believed they had the goods on wire fraud and money laundering charges. In 2017, according to diplomatic notes shared as part of the legal proceedings, the U.S. government asked Sri Lanka to waive the ex-ambassador’s immunity. The Sri Lankan government, now led by self-styled reformist opponents of his family, quickly agreed. A federal grand jury indicted him the following year. While there has been at least one famous case of a foreign diplomat winding up in U.S. custody after his home country waived diplomatic immunity — a Georgian diplomat who killed a woman in a D.C. drunk-driving accident — this case had one major difference: There was no American victim. The country the diplomat had defrauded was his own.

It’s not clear why U.S. prosecutors were so hot to trot on what was by then an old case involving a comparatively small dollar figure and money that had already been returned. At the State Department, officials typically don’t like this sort of prosecution, which other governments could theoretically deploy against Americans. On the other hand, for prosecutors, a highly connected envoy with family ties to a corruption-plagued government could theoretically give up information on fatter targets of more pressing interest to the feds.

che. In 2019, after another election in Sri Lanka, the Rajapaksa dynasty returned to power in a landslide. Another brother, Gotabaya, became president. In a series of diplomatic notes to the American embassy, his government asserted that the immunity hadn’t been properly waived and should be reinstated. In court in Washington, the defense team introduced material suggesting, plausibly, that the waiver had been part of a broader pattern by the previous government to punish political rivals.

They got nowhere. The State Department maintained that once you’ve given up diplomatic immunity, you can’t just get it back.

And in federal court, prosecutors rolled out an argument that ought to put fear into would-be diplomatic crooks everywhere: The waiver didn’t matter, they said. Under international conventions, a sitting diplomat can’t be prosecuted, period, whether he’s accused of armed robbery, blackmail or jaywalking. But in the event the diplomat returns to the scene of the crime as a tourist a few years later, it turns out that the locals can nab him retroactively for anything that wasn’t formally part of the job. Graft, prosecutors archly noted, was not on an ambassador’s list of duties: “The Defendant’s official responsibilities regarding the purchase of a new embassy building did not require, and were not furthered in any way by, misstating the purchase price of the building and the fraudulent activity to arrange transfer of the excess amounts for his own benefit.”

Offered a deal, Wickramasuriya pleaded guilty to wire fraud on April 1.

As he copped the plea, the ex-ambassador may have been thinking that returning to the U.S. had been a big mistake. After all, his side was in power again back in Sri Lanka. A democracy for its entire independent history — one where governments have regularly lost, and left — the island nation has become increasingly illiberal of late, like a lot of countries. It was a good bet that the ruling party wouldn’t have pushed too hard to punish one of its own once it returned to power.

Michael Schaffer is a senior editor at POLITICO. His Capital City column runs weekly in POLITICO Magazine

END

Related Posts

Giant leatherback sea turtle washes up on Panadura beach
Around South Asia

Giant leatherback sea turtle washes up on Panadura beach

June 3, 2023
Rain. Image credits - Max Bender @maxwbender / Unsplash
Around South Asia

Southwest monsoon to gradually establish across Sri Lanka

June 3, 2023
Rahul Gandhi’s speech at Stanford University
India

Rahul Gandhi’s speech at Stanford University

June 3, 2023
Imports. Image credits - Paul Teysen @hooverpaul55 / Unsplash
Around South Asia

Import restrictions on nearly 400 items to be relaxed

June 2, 2023
President says Sri Lanka will be a thriving nation by 2048
Economy

President says Sri Lanka will be a thriving nation by 2048

June 2, 2023
Barkha Dutt interviews Milinda Moragoda, Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner in India for Mojo
Diplomacy

Barkha Dutt interviews Milinda Moragoda, Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner in India for Mojo

June 2, 2023
  • Electricity

    Power cut schedule for today in Sri Lanka: Uninterrupted power supply

    60244 shares
    Share 24120 Tweet 15052
  • Registration open for National Fuel Pass

    6641 shares
    Share 2694 Tweet 1645
  • Foreign Currency Official Exchange Rates from Central Bank of Sri Lanka

    1858 shares
    Share 750 Tweet 462
  • WATCH : Yohani’s first live performance in India

    790 shares
    Share 329 Tweet 192
  • Power interruption schedule released: Check your area power cut time

    742 shares
    Share 320 Tweet 176
  • About Us
  • Advertisements
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact

© 2022 All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Around South Asia
    • Afghanistan
    • Bangladesh
    • Bhutan
    • China
    • India
    • Maldives
    • Myanmar
    • Nepal
    • Pakistan
    • Sri Lanka
  • Around The World
  • Breaking News
  • Business
    • Exchange
  • Climate Change
  • Governance
    • Crime
    • Diplomacy
    • Defense
    • Human Rights
    • Politics
    • Strategic Affairs
  • Lifestyle
    • Books
    • Entertainment
      • Arts
      • Cinema
      • Gaming
      • Music
      • Movie
      • Series
      • TV
    • Health
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Travel
  • Culture
    • Ethnicity
    • Gender
  • Development news
  • Economy
  • Education
  • Environment
  • Coronavirus
  • History
  • National
  • Offbeat
    • Media
    • Music and arts across South Asia
  • Recommended
    • Headlines
    • Highlights
    • Top Picture
    • Top Story
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Sports
    • Football
    • Cricket
      • LPL
      • IPL
    • Tennis
    • Formula 1
    • NBA
  • Tech
    • Instagram
  • United Nations
  • Weather
  • World
    • Japan
    • Russia
    • United States
  • Videos

© 2022 All rights reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

eskisehir escort -

https://www.vudols.com/

- Sağlık Personeli - mersin escort - Antalya korsan taksi -
ip booter