Businessman Thiru Nadesan wrote to President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa claiming innocence in relation to the allegations leveled against him by 'Pandora Papers'.

Nadesan, a relative of President Rajapaksa, requested the President to appoint an independent pandel of inquiry, headed by a retired judge, to independently investigate the allegations leveled against him and his wife, former Deputy Minister Nirupama Rajapaksa.

Nadesan said the controversy which broke out two days ago caused him great distress and heartache.

Pandora Papers - a leak of almost 12 million documents - revealed hidden wealth, tax avoidance and, in some cases, money laundering - obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).

The ICIJ stated that both Nadesan and Rajapaksa declined to answer the questions raised by the organisation in relation to their hidden wealth.

The questionaire sent in writing to both Rajapaksa and Nadesan have been made public by the ICIJ.