COPE cries foul CBSL uncooperative
Posted on June 10th, 2016
Ruwan Laknath Jayakody Courtesy The Nation
The Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) has charged that the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) and its Governor, Arjuna Mahendran were refusing to provide information pertaining to all Treasury Bond issues from 2015, concerning which a special investigation is being conducted.
Chairman of the COPE, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) MP Sunil Handunnetti said that subsequent to the issue coming up, Governor of the CBSL, Arjuna Mahendran, Secretary to the Treasury Ministry of Finance, Dr. R.H.S. Samarathunga and Secretary – Ministry of National Policies and Economic Affairs, M.I.M. Rafeek had been summoned and been directed to provide all the complete details relating to such on or before June 15.
They cannot withhold information from the COPE and refuse to cooperate with the investigation, he added.
The Auditor General was ordered to conduct a special investigation into the bond issues during the said period, which included all the details. We will submit the report to the Parliament by the end of this month,” he remarked.
Meanwhile, it must be noted that civil society organizations like the Anti-Corruption Front had previously noted that an official high up in the CBSL had ordered the erasure of data (including data on computers) related to recent Treasury bond issues, which may contain evidence of financial crimes being committed. Mahendran was not available for a comment.
June 11th, 2016 at 11:52 pm
All boils down to how much the JVP Sunil Handunetti can be trusted with being the chairman of the COPE Committee? Ranil got the job for him knowing fully well how to handle this half baked pseudo socialist. Ranil will get him to have the usual JVP show to hoodwink the nation and prolong the investigation as long as possible knowing fully well that the memory span of our ordinary citizens are very short.