Sri Lanka probes president’s niece over Pandora Papers claims

Opposition cries foul, saying probe would amount to cover-up by Rajapaksa family, which has been in power for decades.

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has ordered a probe into his niece’s overseas wealth after she and her husband were alleged in the Pandora Papers to have millions of dollars stashed abroad.

The opposition immediately cried foul, saying the investigation would amount to a cover-up by the Rajapaksa family which have been powerful in the island nation for decades.

Cabinet spokesman Dullas Alahapperuma on Wednesday said the president asked the main anti-corruption body to issue a report on the assets of Nirupama Rajapaksa and her husband Thirukumar Nadesan “within one month”.