Distressed Golden Key depositors look to Maithri

Saturday, 21 February 2015 03:09 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Channa Fernandopulle Golden Key Depositors called on the President to expedite the enforcement of existing court orders against former Chairman of the Ceylinco Group, Lalith Kotelawala and his wife Sicille Kotelawala. Subsequent to the Golden Key collapse, Kotelawala had been placed in remand having only been granted bail on the condition that he would commence immediate repayment of depositors upon his release. “We are not asking for a single rupee from the Government. We only request that President Sirisena and his Government follow the spirit of ‘maithripalanaya’ and enforce existing court orders against Lalith Kotelawala and his wife and provide relief to these innocent depositors. “What we want to know is why a common thief who steals a coconut is thrown in jail as soon as he is caught but when a man who stole billions from innocent members of the public is caught, he is released and allowed to go on with his life. It is not right that there is one set of laws for the majority of the people and another type of law for the others, ” Golden Key All Depositors Association President Dushanthi Hapugoda asserted. She went on to vehemently reject statements made by Lalith Kotelawala alleging that the majority of funds that went into Golden Key was “black money” during a recent televised interview. “These statements made by Kotelawala are complete lies. The only way this money was black money was if it became that way after it entered Kotelawala’s pocket. He has already admitted to his responsibility in Golden Key in courts but once the Government changed he went and said something completely different in the media. Now he is trying to get to claim that he was the victim when we depositors have seen three Governments change without any relief whatsoever being given to us.” Hammering her point about “black money” home, Hapugoda invited several elderly depositors who had attended the media briefing to explain just how they earned the money that they had eventually invested in Golden Key. “When my husband passed away, I had to sell a portion of the land that we lived on to pay for my medical expenses. I was told that I could get a very good interest rate that I could live off if I invested the remaining 40 lakhs with Golden Key. Today my eyesight is very weak and I need money for medicine but there is nothing for me to spend and my illness is getting worse.” 96-year old Somawathi Perera lamented. Meanwhile, commenting on the current status of protracted legal battles being fought on the behalf of the depositors, President of the Golden Key Depositors Society, Vasantha Goonathilaka expressed frustration over continued delays in reaching a legal solution that would provide adequate relief to distressed depositors. “The reason a person like Kotelawala feels like he can come out in public and make statements like these is because he knows that he can get away with it when the enforcement of laws in this country is so weak. We will continue to fight and we will not give him any room to come back but it is disheartening to see that the people involved in the collapse still own luxurious houses all across the country and drive around in Jaguars while these innocent people are left to protest in the street where no one in power is listening,” Goonathilaka charged. His statements were made in reference to an ongoing case in the Supreme Court related to the ownership of shares in Ceylinco Insurance by the Ceylinco Insurance Employees Share Ownership Trust (CIESOT) which is to be taken up in court on 24 February. Goonathilaka declared that while the case was nearing its end, it was still being dragged through unnecessary delays as a result of legal wrangling. “We can clearly see that they were using CIESOT as a vehicle to maintain some control over Ceylinco Insurance. We want to finish this case as soon as possible but every time we make any progress another issue is brought up to stall the case. Once these shares are sold we can start to compensate the depositors most in need but at every step Kotelawala is trying to trip up the process,” he alleged.

Sri Lanka has never sought extradition of Sicille Kotelawala

The Sri Lankan Government has never issued an application to the United Kingdom for the extradition of Sicille Kotelawala according to a correspondence the British High Commissioner John Rankin. The statement, which was issued in February 2013, was made in response to a request from Golden Key depositors to deport Kotelawala who is currently evading arrest warrants issued in the High Court. “We do not understand why it is that the previous two Governments had failed to even attempt to have Sicille Kotelawala extradited but in any case we call on the new regime to take steps to bring her back to Sri Lanka to face justice,” Golden Key All Depositors Association President Dushanthi Hapugoda stated. She added that if Sicille Kotelawala was brought back to the country more light would be shed on just what happened to the alleged Rs. 45 billion in public deposits that remain unaccounted for subsequent to the collapse of Golden Key. “We want to know just where this money went and how such a large sum of money could simply disappear. We must recover these funds and provide relief to depositors but it is a matter of public concern that such massive amounts of publicly gathered funds could be removed from the country.” Hapugoda noted.

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