Srilanka, May 22 -- Chandana Weerakumara, widely known as Sakvithi Ranasinghe, and his wife Kumari Anuradhini have been handed suspended prison sentences and fines by the Colombo High Court for operating an illegal financial institution and collecting public deposits totaling over Rs. 164.1 million.

Both defendants pleaded guilty to the charges. High Court Judge Aditya Patabendige sentenced each to one year of rigorous imprisonment, suspended for 10 years, and imposed a fine of Rs. 25,000 per individual. The court also ordered the collection of their fingerprints upon fine payment before their release.

It was revealed in court that nearly 60% of the defrauded amount-about Rs. 98 million-has already been repaid to depositors in Rs. 5 mi...