AG’s Dept. calls for legal action against Perpetual Treasuries

Tampering with phone recordings etc 

By Shyam Nuwan Ganewatta and Sarath Dharmasena-August 29, 2017, 11:11 pm

Senior Additional Solicitor General (SASG) of the Attorney General’s Department Dappula de Livera, PC yesterday requested the Presidential Commission probing treasury bond scam to institute legal action against Perpetual Treasuries (Pvt.) Ltd (PTL) for misleading the commission by providing fabricated documents and hindering investigations by tampering with the company’s call logger system.

De Livera told the commission that the PTL had meddled with its call logger system to replace its incoming and outgoing numbers with some other numbers.

Evidence proving the deliberate meddling with the telephone recording system had been provided by the Metropolitan Communications (Pvt.) Ltd, which provided telephone services to the PTL, PC Livera told the commission.

According to the Metropolitan Communications (Pvt.) Ltd., the numbers of incoming and outgoing calls of the PTL could be retrieved, but the system had been changed in such a way as to hide some numbers from investigators, he said.

The SASG said that the meddling with the call logger system had been done on July 06, 2017 without the concurrence of the service provider.

Under the circumstances, evidence given before the commission by the PTL so far lacked credibility, Chairman of the Commission Supreme Court Judge K. T. Chitrasiri said.

Considering the facts laid before the commission, legal action should be initiated against the PTL, SASG de Livera said.

After changing call logger system, the PTL officials had replaced the desktop computer connected thereto with a new one, the SASG said, calling on the commission to issue an order to take the old computer into custody for investigation.

Chief Engineers of Metropolitan Company Nalin Ranga Dharmaratne started testifying before the commissions at 1.30 pm after the lunch break. His evidence was led by Assistant Solicitor General (ASG) Yasantha Kodagoda, PC.

Asked by ASG Kodagoda whether he was an engineering graduate of the Peradeniya University, Dharmaratne answered in the affirmative. In answer to a question he said he had worked as the Chief Engineer at the Metropolitan Communications (Pvt.) Ltd., since April, 2010.

Dharmaratne told the commission that the call logger system installed at Perpetual Treasuries had provided facilities such as recording out-going and incoming numbers and times and durations of all calls.

Reading out two paragraphs of the affidavit submitted by Perpetual Treasuries CEO Kasun Palisena, ASG Kodagoda asked Dharmaratne whether what was stated therein was true. The extracts said that call details such as incoming and outgoing numbers could be retrieved. Dharmaratne said the system his company had provided to Perpetual Treasures had the facilities to record aforesaid information.

Commission Chairman Justice Chitrasiri (smilingly): What you are being asked is whether the said statement is true of false.

Dharmasena repeated what he had said.

ASG Kodagoda asked the witness whether what Palisena had said was a diabolical lie or not.

(Laughter)

Dharmaratne said that as far as the system his company had supplied was concerned it was a lie.

Before Dharmaratne began his testimony, Palisena was escorted out of the hall where the proceedings were held.

ASG Kodagoda asked Dharmarante whether Metropolitan Communications (Pvt.) Ltd., had visited Perpetual Treasuries in keeping in compliance with an order given by the commission order to obtained backup data from the logger system. Deharmaratne said he had done so on Saturday (26).

ASG Kodagoda asked whether anything had been found out. Dharmaratne said that he had found that the call data from Feb. 02, 2015 and May 31, 2016 required by the commission had been deleted from the desktop computer which was part of the call logger system. He said he thought the situation was such that the required data could not be retrieved. In place of the data some voice recordings had been inserted.

Chairman Justice Chitrasiri asked how he could say the recordings had been inserted. Dharmaratne said the mother company of Metropolitan, Extend P (Pvt.) Ltd., had studied the logger system through online logging and found out that the calls recorded by the system had been replaced with some telephone recordings. The mother company had informed Metropolitan that the date of new installation was July 06, 2017. SASG Dappula de Livera, PC said earlier in the day that it was the date on which the Central Bank had suspended Perpetual Treasures as a primary dealer for six months.

Justice Jayawardena asked Dharmaratne whether any other client Sri Lanka had done such a thing. The latter said no such thing had been reported as regards the call logger systems his company had installed elsewhere.

Commission member Justice Prasanna Jayawardena, reading from an affidavit submitted by Metropolitan Communications (Pvt.), pointed out to the witness that according to the service agreement between Metropolitan and Perpetual Treasuries, modification or alteration or adjustment could effected to the call logger system without informing the service provider (Metropolitan). Dharmaratne agreed.

Dharmaratne will resume giving evidence tomorrow when the commission meets at 10.00 am today. Palisena has also been summoned to give evidence.