Cabraal checkmates Ranil

• Former CB Chief says Prime Minister ‘s charges over Rs. 2.7 trillion Bond issues of the past are erroneous
• Says those were not private placements but a system practiced for decades by CB to ensure low cost of borrowing
• Warns that recklessly discrediting Central Bank process is highly damaging to investor community
• Welcomes and ready to face Parliamentary Select Committee probe
• Says recent 30-year Treasury Bond fiasco is more devastating
• Invites Ranil for TV debate  on the matter

Akin to taking the bull by its horns, former Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal yesterday spoke out and challenged Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe for an open debate against what the former described as false allegations over the issuance of Treasury Bonds during the rule of the past regime.

In a detailed statement (see full version on Page 13), Cabraal responded to various allegations levelled by the Prime Minister and said he was prepared to face a probe by a Parliamentary Select Committee to clear his name as well as the Central Bank management under his stewardship. Cabraal said that Wickremesinghe’s assertion last week that Rs. 2.7 trillion worth of Treasury Bonds were privately placed for the benefit of the former regime’s cronies was “shockingly false.” Instead, Cabraal said that transparent direct placements to primary dealers were a time-tested method adopted by the Central Bank for decades to ensure a lower cost of borrowing. 

On the contrary, the former CB Chief said that the new Government’s 30-year Treasury Bond issuance and scam had caused losses to the economy and the country on an epic proportion. Cabraal claimed that erroneous statements on Bond issuances between 2011 and 2014 by the Prime Minister were to desperately shift the country’s attention away from the February 2015 bond scam. 

The former CB Chief said that he was willing to face a Parliamentary Select Committee on the Bond issuances of 2011 to 2014 and it must also probe the latest Bond scam. Cabraal also challenged Prime Minister Wickremesinghe to an open TV debate.

Cabraal, in his statement, also warned that it was not wise to regularly and recklessly discredit the Central Bank to score cheap political points as the Government ran the risk of such statements sending shockwaves across the global investor community, which unfortunately may lead to disastrous consequences.

CLICK HERE TO READ FULL STATEMENT