Controversial figure Chandana Weerakumara alias Sakvithi Ranasinghe was released on bail today by the Colombo Magistrate.

Ranasinghe, who is charged with fraud and financial misappropriation, spent nearly 9 months in remand custody.

He ran a financial company that misappropriated over Rs. 1620 million deposited by people. The company crashed in 2008 leaving thousands of depositors in a destitute situation.

It was later revealed that Ranasinghe's financial company was not registered with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.