Presidential Commission on Bond scam hears of Arjun Aloysius-Ravi K nexus

The Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the alleged Treasury Bond scam yesterday heard about the purported nexus between former Finance Minister and current Foreign Minister Ravi Karunanayake and Arjun Aloysius of Perpetual Treasuries fame.

Testifying at the commission hearing, East West Properties Director Anika Vinodini Wijesuriya, the owner of the fifth floor condominium in Monarch Apartments, said Aloysius had leased out a penthouse at Monarch Apartment in Colombo on behalf of Minister Karunanayake and his family in order for them to use it as a temporary residence while their house was being renovated.

Wijesuriya, the owner of the fifth floor condominium told the Commission that following the decision to rent out the Monarch Apartments penthouse 5PH2, the Minister’s wife Mela Karunanayake asked to lease the apartment through a personal connection.

According to Wijesuriya’s testimony, the apartment was first inspected by Mela Karunanayake, who later called Aloysius to finalise the deal.

Further, Aloysius stated that following media reports on the deal he had requested Wijesuriya to destroy the lease agreement signed for the penthouse.

Submitting the original copy of the lease agreement, Wijesuriya told the commission that Aloysius paid a total of Rs. 8.7 million for the lease. Wjesuriya further revealed that the Karunanayake family bought the penthouse after the lease lapsed, paying a sum of Rs. 165 million in late 2016. The purchase was made through a company called Global Star Logistics Ltd., in which Minister Karunanayake’s wife and daughter hold director posts.

After studying the document, Commissioner Justice P.S. Jayawardena said that since the agreement has been registered under the land registration department, destroying the copy of the agreement held by the witness was pointless.

Prior to testifying before the commission, the witness, represented by attorney Suren de Silva, requested her name be withheld from the media. The Commissioner Justice P.S. Jayawardena however denied the request on the grounds that the names of all other witnesses had been exposed.