Treasury bond scams COPE report holds Mahendran responsible
Posted on October 22nd, 2016
by Saman Indrajith Island
‘Good Governance’ MPs in last ditch-battle to defend their man
UNP to present alternative report disputing damning report
The Island draws fire for reporting committee proceedings
October 21, 2016, 9:41 pm
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Parliamentary watchdog committee, COPE (Committee on Public Enterprises), yesterday approved its Chairman’s report holding former Central Bank governor Arjuna Mahendran responsible for Treasury bond scandals. The report recommends legal action against those involved in the scams and the recovery of losses from them, according to a senior COPE member.
The COPE met around 9.30 am in Parliament yesterday, following heated exchanges over the Mahendran issue the previous day, and the division continued resulting in UNP members of the committee saying that they would not agree with Chairman, JVP MP Sunil Handunnetti’s report. Of the 14 members of the COPE, who met yesterday, eight representing the UPFA and the JVP endorsed the Chairman’s report. They are Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Lakshman Seneviratne, Chandrasiri Gajadheera, Priyankara Jayaratne, Lasantha Alagiyawanne, Weerakumara Dissanayake, Bimal Ratnayake and Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa.
As they failed to secure majority to exonerate Mahendran of the treasury bond scam or change the report of investigation, the five UNP Members, Dr. Harsha de Silva, Ajith Perera, Sujeewa Serasinghe, Hector Appuhamy and Harshana Rajakaruna said that they would submit an alternative report of their own on the investigation, according to sources.
Sources said UNP Ministers Senasinghe and Perera openly faulted COPE Chairman and Auditor General at yester’s meeting in a threatening manner, demanding that they amend their findings. Minister Perera told the Committee that the Auditor General was neither the God nor the Buddha and others should not accept his word as the final. Perera became silent only when other members pointed out that it was unbecoming of an MP to threaten AG to change his report on the findings of an investigation conducted by his department. They said such action amounted to a punishable offence. Senasinghe wielding a photocopy of page one of The Island newspaper, which reported the proceedings of COPE on Thursday accused the COPE chairman of leaking the story to the media.Chairman Handunnetti vehemently denied the allegation.
The Chairman’s report concludes that there have been irregularities and malpractices of serious nature in the auctioning of treasury bonds from February 2015 to May 2016.
The irregularities and malpractices during the said period with Mahendran as the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) were proved beyond a reasonable doubt and it was revealed that they had caused the public and the international community to lose faith in the CBSL.
The COPE report recommends that severe punitive action be taken against those responsible for the bond scams. It also calls for the setting up of a committee or any other mechanism to monitor the progress of the implementation of the COPE recommendations and report it to Parliament.
Observing that Perpetual Treasuries company, owned by a relative of Mahendran has made massive profits during the period in question, the COPE report recommends that a special investigation be held into its financial gains. If that institution’s profit making resulted in any losses to the Central Bank, then the losses should be recovered from it, the report says.
The report also recommends the creation of a new mechanism to prevent occurrence of similar incidents in the future.
After eight members of the COPE had endorsed the report by placing their signatures thereon, the UNP MPs said that they would put out another report on the same issue.
The five UNP members, COPE Chairman, Auditor General and the COPE Secretarial staff stayed back after others had left the meeting around 1.30 pm, according to sources.
Sources said the COPE Chairman’s report on the bond scams would be presented to Parliament on Oct. 25 in spite of the UNP’s efforts to scuttle it. Finalising of the UNP report on Treasury bond scams had been postponed till Oct. 24, the senior COPE member said, adding that the UNP’s attempt to absolve Mahendran of what he did had failed at the end of 16-month long deliberations on the issue.
October 22nd, 2016 at 6:00 pm
PAL HORUNGE AMMAS ARE RUNNING SRI LANKA
UNP MP’s in COPE Refuse to Accept Central Bank Report Approved by 8 Committee Members;Final Vote with all 26 Members Likely
The Parliamentary Oversight Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) finding that former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran was directly responsible for a controversial Treasury bond scam in 2015 is being hotly challenged by the United National Party MPs on the committee.
It is learnt that the COPE report has also recommended that Mr. Mahendran and officials involved be investigated and the monies recovered from the former Governor.
A UNP COPE member who said he was not authorised to speak pointed out that the final draft report “has not yet been approved”.
COPE Chairman Sunil Handunnetti of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) confirmed that several UNP MPs on COPE refused to endorse the final report which was now being translated into Tamil and English. He hoped to present the report to Parliament next week, he said.
Several members of the Committee have, however, agreed to this final draft and have already signed their acceptance, he told the Sunday Times.
Mr. Handunnetti said UNP MPs were not in favour of the findings and wanting to submit dissenting reports. “Even if all the 26 MPs on the committee want to present individual reports, I will have to allow it,” he said.
The COPE draft also raises questions on how Perpetual Treasuries Ltd., benefitted by windfall profits after the bond issue and called for guidelines on how the Government should raise monies in emergencies.
The committee has also called for a review of transactions of Primary Dealers in secondary markets and how in this instance one party was favoured.
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) vote is not clear. Its leader Rajavarothayam Sampanthan was in Batticaloa and did not respond to telephone calls. The TNA vote will be crucial to decide on whether the COPE report will be passed with a majority.
The then Governor Arjuna Mahendran who was refused an extension of his term by President Maithripala Sirisena in June this year was at the centre of the COPE investigation fighting allegations that his immediate family profited financially by The Bank calling for Treasury bonds – a short term debt instrument guaranteed by the Government of Sri Lanka.
The COPE chairman said the bond issue was under investigation for the past several months and its members had looked in depth into the report of the Auditor General and a committee of the UNP that went into the matter. Central Bank officials including former Governor Mahendran were also interviewed.
Joint Opposition leader Dinesh Gunawardena told the Sunday Times, “I have been informed by our members about the findings in the 40-page draft final report which our members have accepted.”
However, the UNP MP said that their members had agreed when the draft report was presented to go through paragraph by paragraph and approve or reject them. “We were able to go through only 11 pages when we learnt the others had signed it. As far as we are concerned, there is still no COPE report. We have spent over seven hours on Friday going through the 11 pages by then, he said.
COPE has 26 MPs; UNP (10), SLFP (4), JVP (4), TNA (4), JO (3), SLMC (1).
Courtesy;Sunday Times
October 24th, 2016 at 3:27 am
Maha horandran is traitor chief die hard catholic, token Buddhist Batalande Wadakaya pol pot ponil wickramaSinhala
killer’s catholic buddy. So no commission, no court, no law will punish him. Horandran knows it. Batalande Wadakaya
knows it. Most of the COPE clowns are henchmen of Batalande Wadakaya’s. He must have appointed the lot so
none of them will do anything to upset his catholic buddy.
Thanks to catholic-run UNPatriotic party Sri Lanka today is a hell hole for the Sinhalese. Meanwhile tamils, mussies
catholics and corrupt deshapaluwan are having the time of their lives. To make things even worse for the
Sinhalese puppet maru (hora)sira at the top looking on helplessly. In front of Batalande Wadakaya he is a mere
puppet. One look from Wadakaya is enough to wet puppet’s pants. That’s how pathetic affairs have become in
Sri Lanka. Catholic traitor chief and his gang of fellow catholics john mara, karunkanayagam, ponjan rama,
austin fernado, reginald cooray etc. etc. are the top dogs in Sri Lanka. We have to thank the traitor Sinhalese
donkeys who support this catholic-run, Sri Lanka-destroying, Sinhalese-murdering, Buddhism-destroying
UNPatriotic party.
October 24th, 2016 at 3:29 am
Some useful links for Sinhala modayas who support catholic-run UNPatriotic party to enjoy. If you have a brain
just look at your darlings hand work to destroy Sri Lanka, Buddhism and Sinhalese race. Their treachery to
Sri Lanka, Sinhalese race and Buddhism is despicable. Just despicable!
This is only part of their colourful ‘CV’.
Millennium city murders by the pol pot,
torture and killing of Buddhist jvpers in Batalande Torture Camp by Batlande Wadakaya pol pot ponil
wickramaSinhalakiller
CB robbery with his catholic buddy maha horandran,
thambi mudiyanselage alugosu jr(at) putting foundation to break up Sri Lanka by introducing 13, 13A
killing 60,000+ Buddhist jvpers under the pretext of putting down an insurgency
killing 100,000+ Buddhists by dragging the war by catholic tigers tamil drealama
sacking 40,000+ state employees by alugosu jr(at)
sending 600+ policmen by alugosu lk porisadaya etc. etc. etc. etc……………
List is endless. Of course these actions are music to traitor tamils, mussies and catholics. But some traitor
Sinhalese supporting a party with a treacherous record against Sinhalese, Sri Lanka and Buddhism is beyond any
human’s belief! Hope Batalnde wadakaya will suffer immensely in this life for the crimes he has committed against
Sri Lanka, Buddhism and Sinhalese!
http://ltte-christian-ties.blogspot.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cV6_o9txURc
http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2015/08/05/christianizing-of-sri-lanka-unps-betrayal-of-buddhism/
http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2016/05/27/ranil-wickremasinghes-new-unp-3/
http://www.lankagrid.com/soma-thero/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_eJ1gX_fuU
http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2016/09/26/ltte-terrorism-church-links-can-someone-explain-these-photos/