Dr Coomaraswamy responds to claims over ties with Rajaratnam
Posted on July 5th, 2016
Courtesy Adaderana
Dr Indrajit Coomaraswamy says that his primary responsibility as the governor is to uphold the reputation and credibility of the central bank, one of the very great intuitions of the country.
I intend to do my best to make sure that this organisation’s reputation, prestige, credibility is upheld, he said addressing his first media briefing today (5).
With regard to the future task, he said that Sri Lanka needs to stabilize the economy and get strong macro economical fundamentals. That is the key building block and the central bank has a key role to play.”
On the steps taken and policies implemented by the government so far, he said: I think we are on the right track but we have to sustain it.” He stated that the implementation of policies will be crucial.
Responding to a question, he said that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) simply endorsed what the government needed to do and that it did not impose any conditions on Sri Lanka. Asked about his ties with Galleon Group hedge fund cofounder Raj Rajaratnam, who was convicted in 2011 on insider trading charges, Dr Coomaraswamy said that he did macroeconomic research for the Sri Lankan-American Billionaire who he knew as a friend.
It was a question of delivering some professional services for him, which is basically doing macroeconomic research,” he said, adding that the time he did that work was before Rajaratnam was charged with any misdemeanor.
In fact I have known him for a long time. When I was a research student at the University of Sussex, he was an undergraduate and we became friends.” When I was finishing at the Commonwealth Secretariat, he knew what my background was in terms of macroeconomic trend.
He wanted me to help him,” he said. Dr Coomaraswamy said that he did macroeconomic research for Rajaratnam for about 10 months. I actually worked for him for about 10 months and my job was to provide research reports for him.”
And then of course he was charged and the operation stopped. It took another year for the whole think to be wound up legally.” I knew him as a friend from the university.” He stated that one year before he was arrested, Rajaratnam helped a lot in Sri Lanka.
He helped this market, he helped after the tsunami, he had done a lot of positive things.”
He had set up a charitable fund which helped projects in the north and south of the country, he said.
That’s the Raj Rajararatnam that I knew.”
I thought I was working with somebody for whom I actually had a lot of regard because he had made a tremendous amount of money and he used that money often and in socially very positive ways.”
– See more at: http://adaderana.lk/news.php?mode=beauti&nid=35944#sthash.bz5cvWwI.dpuf
July 5th, 2016 at 7:48 am
“…he had made a tremendous amount of money.” I am sure that is why he was jailed. Most of it illegally.
July 5th, 2016 at 3:16 pm
I read somewhere that the LTTE provided the initial investment stake of Raj Rajaratnam.
If so, then he was knowingly laundering illegal money from a terrorist group.
Does anyone have any information on where Rajaratnam got his initial investment funds to develop into the giant Galleon fund now indited for insider trading?
July 5th, 2016 at 5:34 pm
Ranil W has his way all the time. Now he has appointed someone who may be worse than Arjun Mahendran. According to the Asian Mirror Coomaraswamy also served as a special advisor to the Galleon group, founded by controversial businessman Raj Rajaratnam, a Sri Lankan American currently serving a 11 year prison term. See http://www.asianmirror.lk/keyhole/item/17521-who-is-indrajit-coomaraswamy-here-s-what-you-should-know
Indrajit Coomaraswamy is the brother of Radhika Coomaraswamy. She was a fanatic Eelamist and while she was working at the UN did her best to make UN declare R2P and invade Sri Lanka on the pretext of protecting the Tamils.
For her efforts to destroy the Sinhala Buddhists she was given a Deshamanya award by the man who sits in the President’s chair now. I can think of hundreds of others who deserve that Honor much more who would be willing to lay down their life for Sri Lanka. She should have been given the “Deshadhrohi” award.
She complained bitterly about how badly the Tamils were treated by the Sinhalese without mentioning that her father Raju Coomaraswamy was a Sri Lankan civil servant and a UN administrator. He was an old boy of Royal like Indrajit and got his free education like most Tamils and was appointed by J.R. Jayawardena as UN Ambassdor. As a family they lived in Colombo 7 in the lap of luxury. It is the same as Vigneswaran who got his free education, married his sons to Sinhala women, lived in Colombo 7, was a supreme court judge and yet now he sends resolutions UN about Genocide of Tamils by Sinhalese. Is there a limit to the deceit of Tamil people?
Radhika Coomaraswamy was the Under secretary of the United Nations, Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict until 13 July 2012. Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed her to the position in April ’06. In her position she could have done a lot to bring the use of child soldiers by the LTTE to the attention of UN and exerted pressure on LTTE to desist. She did not. Sri Lanka Govt in return for all her traitorous acts has now appointed her to the Constitutional Council (Sri Lanka) as a civil representative on September 10th, 2015. This is how stupid our current Govt is and so are the Sinhalese who voted this lot into power.
She was board member of ICES Sri Lanka and the entire directorate of this group is now under investigation for fraud. Also Indrajit Coomaraswamy was a Director of this group till 2015.
See https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/ices-in-sri-lanka-is-under-investigation/
In addition Radhika was under investigation for conflict of interest by playing a dual role as Under-Secretary General and board member of the ICES after assuring the UN that she has given up her positions in Sri Lanka;
See: http://www.asiantribune.com/?q=node/9346
Our people are trusting, good hearted idiots and should be given a medal for being the STUPIDEST people on earth.
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Here is a comment from Adaderana about Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy.
SL-Wallah • 8 hours ago
Scandal after another scandal! The “yahapalanaya” government knew all along that Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy’s crooked background. This is another blatant liar and a
crook that has made his way through to the top most and important position in Sri Lanka as the Governor of the Central Bank. He was just appointed by “SERIYAKA” Sirisena without hesitation. It is very obvious in Coomaraswamy’s whole page long explanation as to why he worked for Raj Rajaratnam who is convicted for American history’s worst financial crimes and embezzlement of billions of dollars and now languishing in jail. He, Coomaraswamy is now trying to cover up his involvement in Rajaratnam’s criminal activity by giving lame and shady reasons while in any right thinking person’s mind will focus on the criminal minded research he has been doing for this notorious major criminal.
Rajaratnam’s financial dealing in Sri Lanka has always been for the Tamil terrorist movement the LTTE and LTTE’s so called political theoretician / doctrinaire, chief political strategist and chief negotiator of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam late Anton Balasinham has been a very close associate of both Indrajit Coomaraswami and Raj Rajaratnam where they have been meeting frequently in London. Rajaratnam’s funding went directly to LTTE coffers and not to any development projects as Coomaraswamy claims in the above statement – re quote: “I knew him as a friend from the university.” “He stated that one year before he was arrested, Rajaratnam helped a lot in Sri Lanka”. “He helped this market, he helped after the tsunami, he had done a lot of positive things”.
“He had set up a charitable fund which helped projects in the north and south of the country, he said” All the above clearly illustrate how close an associate and a financial advisor he was to this notorious crook Raj Rajaratnam. So WHERE LIES THE INTEGRITY OF THIS MAN IS A MASSIVE QUESTION “SEERIYAKA” AND RANIL WILL HAVE TO EXPLAIN. This is like “putting a fox in charge of the henhouse”. Ada Derana should publish this in its entirety. Jayaweeeeeeeeawa!
July 5th, 2016 at 6:29 pm
A man is judged by his friends.
So the three way triangle is – Raj Rajaratnam sending $3 million to the current finance minister somewhere around 2008 and the current central bank governor worked for Raj around that time and now he works for the current finance minister. It seems Raj is on top of it and the other two are recipients.
This doesn’t appear to be a holy alliance.
July 5th, 2016 at 9:07 pm
Raj Rajaratnam was also providing ONLY PROFESSIONAL SERVICES to his Galleon Fund investors, whoever they were, to increase their profits! But, “professional” or not, the insider trading was ILLEGAL! Many other things Rajaratnam had done may also prove to be ILLEGAL, but the US government does not care about those illegalities.
Coomaraswamy is now pretending to be a gullible innocent victim who only offered his “professional services” to Rajaratnam!
Do we want such a BLIND, DEAF & GULLIBLE man as the new governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka?? Will that “GULLIBILITY” be reason enough to offer insider-trading bond loan deals to HIS brother-in-law just like Mahendran? Should such a TOTHTHA BABA who did not know who he was dealing with be in charge of the hen house at the Central Bank??
Reminds me of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) that was only offering “charitable humanitarian” services to the LTTE throughout the EELAM war!
My God, is the YAMAPALANA GOSL totally STUPID to think that the people of Sri Lanka will swallow this load of crap??
July 6th, 2016 at 5:16 am
The apparent public ‘tug of war’ between Pacha sira and mutta runil was a crafty smoke screen.
Indrajith Coomaraswamy was selected for the job by the Indian establishment but the name was was not publicized so that there won’t be any opposition to him until he was appointed.
That’s exactly what happened.
Now like the Sira/RW joint indrajith too is obliged pay to homage to India and help establish the ‘ETCA’ he helped to create.
July 6th, 2016 at 12:05 pm
Yahap is pulling Wool over our Eyes, guys !
Foreign Power clutch over Lanka, Land Grabs in Lanka, Bought Parliament, Humiliating Heroes of Lanka, etc. – you name it – it’s the heist of the century, and rape of a Democratic Nation in SE Asia !
July 6th, 2016 at 5:07 pm
Dilrook says “This doesn’t appear to be a holy alliance.”.
Not at all ! Note that he goes on to defend big Raj by saying he donated money to Sri Lanka. Donated by stealing from US ? We don’t mind stealing from mom and Dad investors of US ? New money earning policy by new man ?
A man is judged by his dog ?