A Colombo court on October 2 refused to issue arrest warrants for two former Indian directors of the Krrish Group in a bribery case.

The Chief Magistrate cited a lack of evidence and asked the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption to file a report covering the evidence for the warrants.

The anti-graft body had sought warrants for the two former directors over an alleged bribe of 70 million Sri Lankan rupees. It said the two men, who are in India, had been notified by email and air mail but had failed to respond.

The case concerns a stalled hotel project in Colombo. Prosecutors allege the money was paid to Namal Rajapaksa, the elder son of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, to speed up approvals in 2013. Rajapaksa has claimed the money was sponsorship for an international rugby event.

Rajapaksa was remanded in the case on September 29 until October 13. He has been in remand since September 4 in a separate two-million-dollar bribery case linked to an aircraft deal.