Supreme Court overturns Bond scam acquittal, orders trial against Ravi, Mahendran and others

Tuesday, 2 June 2026 06:51 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}


Arjuna Mahendran	Arjun Aloysius	Ravi Karunanayake

The Supreme Court has overturned a Colombo High Court Trial-at-Bar decision that acquitted former Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake, former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran and several other accused without a trial in the 2016 Central Bank Bond scam case, ruling that charges filed under the Public Property Act can be maintained against them.

In a landmark judgment delivered yesterday, the Supreme Court held that the three-judge High Court Trial-at-Bar had erred in determining that the case could not proceed under the Public Property Act.

The case stems from allegations of misuse of public funds in connection with a Treasury Bond issuance conducted by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka in February 2015, a controversy widely regarded as one of the country’s most significant financial scandals.

The Attorney General had filed indictments against a number of defendants, including Perpetual Treasuries Limited, Mahendran, Karunanayake and several others. However, the Colombo High Court Trial-at-Bar had earlier ruled that charges under the Public Property Act could not be sustained against the accused and acquitted them without proceeding to trial.

Following an appeal by the Attorney General, the Supreme Court reversed that ruling, holding that the charges could lawfully be maintained against the defendants, including Perpetual Treasuries Ltd.

The judgment was delivered by Justice Mahinda Samayawardhena, with the concurrence of Chief Justice Preethi Padman Surasena and Justices Shiran Gooneratne, Achala Wengappuli and Arjuna Obeyesekere.

The Supreme Court further directed that the case be heard expeditiously and without delay.

The ruling clears the way for the long-running bond scam case to proceed to trial, reviving legal proceedings into allegations of large-scale financial irregularities and abuse of public funds arising from the controversial 2015 Treasury bond issuance.

The immediate loss has been estimated at Rs. 532 million to the Government and the total loss for the 30 years would be Rs. 10 billion. That loss had been caused by a controversial decision to accept bids worth Rs. 10 billion instead of accepting bids worth Rs 2.6 billion on 27 February 2015.