Ranil To Dodge ‘Bond Scam’ Through AG Bureaucracy
November 4, 2016
Following the comprehensive report by the Committee on Public Enterprise (COPE) on the scam involving the sale of the Treasury Bonds in the Central Bank, Colombo Telegraph learns that Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe has no procedural authority to forward a report to the Attorney General.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe
“This sending of the report is a complete sham by Ranil, who seems to think the people are fools who don’t understand nuances. He thinks he could ease the public animosity by saying or doing something which seems popular but in actual fact is completely nonsensical or in this instance only makes sense in showing how far he is willing to go to cover the issue up” a source within the UNP critical of the approach by the leader said.
Colombo Telegraph learns that the move by Wickremesinghe to involve the Attorney Generals office, was initiated in order to delay any proceeding against his friend and confidante former Governor Arjun Mahendran.
Wickremesinghe is said to be relying on the lethargy and inefficiency of the Attorney Generals department and the judicial bodies at large. The mode of ‘taking up files’ by the Attorney Generals department is in normal circumstances the prescribed First in First Out method, unless as specified by regulation. Accordingly all pending cases before the Attorney General have to be cleared prior to the pending file being taken up for observation.
Under normal circumstances an opinion by the Attorney General could take up to 2 or 3 years if not more.
However, The Colombo Telegraph asked a cabinet Minister close to President Sirisena as to the reason behind the silence on the issue by the President and members of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) in the cabinet, despite such flagrant abuse.
” He is stuck after Ranil shot down the issue regarding his son. After the assault at the night club by his son, he cant speak about Law and Order with the Minister or his confidantes because everyone knows what happened” he said.
