PM says Govt. will probe MR regime bond issues

Friday, 5 January 2018 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Hails bond commission report, says previous COPE report sent by PM to AG in Oct. 2016
Hints PM took action before President
Insists democracy and law has been upheld by the Yahapalana Govt.
Hopes for independent Judiciary to take forward findings of reports

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s office yesterday, in response to the President’s statement, backed the findings of the report of the Presidential Commission on the bond issue and said the Government would ensure investigations and legal action on bond sales conducted since 2008.

The report by the Bond Commission, as it has become known, has been forwarded to the Attorney General’s Department and the Prime Minister thanked the commission members for their service over 10 months.

“The Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) report compiled under Chairman Sunil Handunetti has also been sent to the Attorney General’s Department on 31 October 2016 on the Prime Minister’s advice. The Prime Minister also requested the Attorney General’s office to recommend legal action against officials implicated in the controversial bond issuance in December 2016,” the Prime Minister’s office said in a statement.

Therefore the Prime Minister in December 2016 and the President in 2018 has already instructed the Attorney General’s Department to take legal action on the allegations linked to the controversial bond issuance, it added.

“The democracy and the law abiding policy of the ‘Yahapalanaya’ Government has been reemphasised by these actions and it is expected that the Attorney General’s Department will take the appropriate action. It is the intention of the ‘Yahpalanaya’ Government to investigate and take legal action on the allegedly fraudulent bond sales from 2008 as well.”

The statement went on to say that “everyone’s expectation is that the justice system is allowed to work independently to replace the malicious and mudslinging conventions that existed before.”