Nirupama Rajapaksa Explained

Nirupama Rajapaksa
Office:Deputy Minister of Water Supply & Drainage
Term Start:2010
Term End:2015
Constituency Mp2:Hambantota District
Parliament2:Sri Lanka
Predecessor2:Mahinda Rajapaksa
Term Start2:2005
Term End2:2015
Term Start3:1994
Term End3:2000
Birth Place:13 April 1962 Dominion of Ceylon
Nationality:Sri Lankan citizenship
Spouse:Thirukaran Nadeshan
Party:Sri Lanka Freedom Party
Otherparty:United People's Freedom Alliance
Relations:shyamlal Rajapaksa brother,
Parents:George Rajapaksa (deceased)
(father)
Lalitha Rajapaksa
(mother)
Residence:95 Horton Place,
Colombo 07, Colombo, Western Province, Sri Lanka.

Nirupama Deepika Rajapaksa (born 13 April 1962) is a Sri Lankan politician, a former member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka[1] and a former deputy minister.

Biography

Rajapaksa, herself a Sinhalese Buddhist, is married to an ethnic Tamil Hindu, Thirukkumaran Nadesan.

She is the niece of former Sri Lankan President and later Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. Her late father George and Mahinda were first cousins (her late paternal grandfather, D. M. Rajapaksa and their late father, D. A. Rajapaksa were brothers).[2]

Career

She served as a deputy minister of water supply and drainage during the presidency of Mahinda Rajapaksa between 2010 and 2015.

Pandora Papers controversy

Her name was mentioned in the Pandora Papers which were leaked to the public in October 2021.[3] Portions of the Papers revealed that she and her husband controlled a shell company they used to make investments and buy luxury apartments in London and Sydney.[4] [5] Nadesan set up other shell companies and trusts in secrecy jurisdictions, and he used them with the intention to obtain lucrative consulting contracts from foreign companies doing business with the Sri Lankan government and to buy artwork.[6] Many reports related the fraudulent efforts as part of Rajapksa family’s undisclosed wealth in offshore countries.[7] [8] The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) reported that Rajapaksa and Nadesan declined to answer its questions about their trusts and companies.

Departure from Sri Lanka

On 5 April during the ongoing 2022 Sri Lankan protests against the Sri Lankan government she left the country to Dubai.[9]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Mrs. Nirupama Rajapaksa, M.P.. Parliament of Sri Lanka. Directory of Members. 21 June 2017.
  2. http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2012/01/10/thirukumaran-nadesan-attacked-angry-mob-tamil-nadu Thirukumaran Nadesan attacked by an angry mob in Tamil Nadu
  3. Web site: 2021-10-04. BREAKING : Former Sri Lankan Minister Nirupama Rajapaksa exposed in PANDORA PAPERS Leak. 2021-10-05. Sri Lanka News - Newsfirst. en.
  4. Web site: 2021-10-03. Former Minister Nirupama Rajapaksa named in Pandora Papers. 2021-10-05. NewsWire. en-US.
  5. Web site: Pandora Papers hits the high ranks as Nirupama Rajapaksa documented in it - Breaking News Daily Mirror. 2021-10-05. www.dailymirror.lk. English.
  6. Web site: Power Players - ICIJ. 2 October 2021. 2021-10-05. en-US.
  7. Web site: 2021-10-05. Pandora papers: Sri Lankan power couple piled up luxury homes, artworks and cash offshore as ruling family rose and rose. 2021-10-05. The Indian Express. en.
  8. Web site: Sri Lankan power couple piled up luxury homes, artworks and cash offshore as ruling family rose and rose - ICIJ. 4 October 2021. 2021-10-05. en-US.
  9. Web site: Nirupama Rajapaksa left for Dubai - Breaking News Daily Mirror . 2022-05-09 . www.dailymirror.lk . English.