Sakwithi Ranasinghe and his wife have pleaded guilty before the Colombo High Court today (19) to the charge of operating an unauthorized financial institution and misappropriating an amount of 164,185,000 rupees.

The amended charge sheet, submitted by the Attorney General, was read in front of Colombo High Court Judge Aditya Patabandige.

Both defendants expressed their willingness to plead guilty to the charges.

Following this, the defendants agreed to repay the misappropriated amount in twenty monthly installments of 50 lakh rupees each, as per the court's direction.

The defense lawyers confirmed that the first installment would be paid today.

According to the amended charge sheet presented by the Attorney General, it is alleged that between January 1, 2006, and September 3, 2008, the defendants misappropriated an amount of 164,185,000 rupees that was deposited with Sakwithi Construction Company in the Nugegoda area.