Response To Evasive CBSL Governor Indrajit
Amrit Muttukumaru
The response of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) on behalf of its Governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy to my article “Governor Indrajit & EU ‘Blacklist’ On Money Laundering” is a crude master class on PREVARICATION. In the ‘Comments’ section of the ‘Colombo Telegraph’ Kalinga describes it aptly as “A confession of dereliction of duty and due diligence by so called govenor of Central Bank.” The CBSL does not source the response to any particular official which is the norm in CREDIBLE organizations. The fact that none of the major print media thought it fit to publish my article which deals with an issue which does enormous economic damage to the country tells its own story.
EU ‘Blacklist’
Not all the verbal gymnastics engaged by CBSL can undo the HUGE DAMAGE to the economy by Sri Lanka continuing to be on the European Union (EU) ‘BLACKLIST’ for money laundering for over a year. The EU issued the ‘Blacklist’ subsequent to the ‘Financial Action Task Force’ (FATF) placing the country on its ‘GREY LIST’ from November 2017. FATF recommendations are “recognised as the global anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CFT) standard.”
While Coomaraswamy who has been CBSL Governor since 3 July 2016 for 16 months PRIOR to this ruling must bear some responsibility (together with Messrs. Cabraal and Mahendran), he must bear MAJOR RESPONSIBILITY for the country CONTINUING to be on the ‘Blacklist’ for over a year.
Of what use is the CBSL“time bound action plan” if the country continues to be on the EU ‘Blacklist’ for more than a year? What is its timeframe for the removal of the ‘Blacklist’?
Bond Scam
Of what use are the claimed “Steps initiated by the CBSL” if it has not resulted in holding those concerned ACCOUNTABLE for the Treasury Bond Scam under the Yahapalana government which is arguably the largest financial scam to have taken place in the post-independence history of Sri Lanka.
I repeat (a) how long does it take for the CBSL to carry out its much vaunted FORENSIC AUDIT? (b) the CBSL which is the issuing agency for Treasury Bonds has to date not even QUANTIFIED the loss incurred by the State which is widely perceived to be huge (c) even crucial issues of governance incidental to the bond scam thrown up by witnesses at the Presidential Commission (PCoI) which include possible tax evasion, money laundering and PEPs (Politically Exposed Persons) being directors of banks are not even on the radar.
We look forward to the CBSL “press notice is to be issued in a few days” on the subject of “forensic audits”.
We trust it will also address:
i) Kaushitha Rathnaveera, a Senior Dealer of PTL (Perpetual Treasuries Limited) disclosing to the Presidential Commission (PCoI) probing the Bond Scam that “millions” encashed by him were “several times” left on “PTL CEO Kasun Palisena’s chair”
ii) Nuwan Salgado, Chief Dealer of PTL disclosing to the PCoI that on the “instructions of PTL CEO Kasun Palisena” he maintained a record of payments to “informants” code named as ‘Charlie’, ‘Tango’ and others
(iii) B.R. Sinniah, Chief Financial Officer of GTLPL (Global Transportation and Logistics Pvt Ltd) said to be controlled by former Finance Minister (presently Minister of Power and Energy) Ravi Karunanayake’s family in his testimony to the PCoI disclosing:
“Chairman ‘Lakshmi Kanthan’ who resides in Britain had arrived at the Company on two occasions in February 2016 and 2017 and dumped cash amounting to Rs.145 million in the Chairman’s safe”
“it had not been supported by any documentation or receipt issued to Mr. Kanthan neither were there any entries in the GTLPL accounts books regarding these two cash inflows”
It is likely that both FATF and EU will track the CBSL “press notice” with interest.
Politically Exposed Persons
