Former Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has been freed from all corruption charges due to lack of evidence, reports said.
The country's anti-corruption body, the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC), informed the Colombo Fort Magistrate's Court that no further action could be taken against the accused leader due to lack of evidence.
There will be no further legal proceedings in the case because of "insufficient evidence" to continue with the matter, it reportedly said.
Over 17 million rupees were found at the President’s House in Fort Colombo after Rajapaksa fled on 9 July last year following an uprising against him.
People in vast numbers stormed the official residence of the president in the Sri Lankan capital, demanding his resignation in view of the government failing to protect the country's economy, which resulted in a number of hardships for the common people.
A few months ago, Rajapaksa was also questioned by the Sri Lankan police in the case. Rajapaksa said that the cash found at his official residence belonged to him and had failed to take care of it due to the ongoing security situation at the time.
He told the authorities that the money was to be distributed among people whose houses were destroyed during the uprising that erupted because of the economic crisis in the country, a local newspaper reported.
After the incident, he fled Sri Lanka to the Maldives and from there the leader went to Singapore and sent in his resignation on 14 July.