‘Bondgate’ Mother Of All Lankan Financial Scams?

By Amrit Muttukumaru –JUNE 2, 2018

Amrit Muttukumaru

The manner in which things are continuing to unravel in the egregious bond scam in terms of its magnitude and reach, it would appear it has all the credentials to be described as the ‘mother of all Lankan financial scams’. It isnot merely due to its high value and ramifications but more importantly as increasingly apparent due to its all encompassing reach allegedly involving government and opposition politicians and a varied section of influential persons in civil society. This is probably why there is muted demand even on the issue of getting former CBSL Governor Arjuna Mehendran to Sri Lanka to face due process. 

New developments include Additional Solicitor General Yasantha Kodagoda revealing to court that a cash cheque for Rs. 1 Million from an associate company of the bond scam tainted Perpetual Treasuries Limited (PTL) controlled by Arjun Aloysius was “encashed by a security officer of a Parliamentarian”. 

If not for this revelation after which key opposition parliamentarian Dayasiri Jayasekera identified himself as a person who had received Rs. 1 million from a PTL related company, the public would have never known there was the possibility of a further 118 persons drawn from among politicians, civil society activists and professionals who were the beneficiaries of the largesse doled out by PTL related companies. This in turn led to cabinet minister Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka admitting he had received Rs. 100,000/= from a PTL related company either by cash or cheque.

Hidden Documents

It is preposterous that sections of the bond report which include annexures and also the CID investigation report were not presented to parliament. Things become murkier with the President’s Secretary, Austin Fernando revealing (i) he had sent the entire report to the national archives which generally has a 30 year embargo on making it public (ii) the Attorney General advising him that certain sections of the report cannot be made public as it is ‘sub judice’. Austin Fernando needs to ‘educate’ the public as to why he prematurely archived the bond report and connected documents when the bond scam is very much a ‘live’ issue?  I ask Fernando whether his “Belly” continues to be “White” after this? One wonders what other current documents have been archived! For instance, has the Thajudeen case also been archived?

On the issue of sub judice one gets the impression this is ploy to avoid a public debate. On this basis all a wrongdoer has to do is file a case and then shout from rooftops it is sub judice. There is legal opinion that “Publication may be justified on the grounds of being true and in the public interest   even before the matter reaches open court.” 

The PM & PCoI Report 

The report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) into the Treasury Bond scam is like thecurate’s egg good and bad in parts. It had already laid the ground work at the investigative stage by its glaring partiality to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

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