Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) leader Rauf Hakeem, MP, demands to know why the Rajapaksa-Wickremesinghe government entered into an agreement with bondholders and commercial creditors just 48 hours before the presidential election.

MP Hakeem told The Island that he raised the issue at hand in Parliament last week when Parliament deliberated the Vote-on-Account. He drew the attention of Parliament to what he called a matter of critical importance related to Sri Lanka’s recent debt restructuring. The SLMC leader said: “While it is undeniable that reaching an agreement with bondholders and commercial creditors was crucial to steering our nation out of its economic crisis, troubling questions linger about the integrity of this process.

It is concerning that the agreement with bondholders was finalised merely two days before the Presidential elections, raising doubts about whether this, too, was exploited to serve the interests of a select few. We are reminded of the controversial $500 million bond repayment saga during the Rajapaksa administration. Similarly, the current restructuring raises the specter of insider trading—where investors, potentially armed with privileged information, acquired Sri Lankan bonds at deep discounts, only to negotiate settlements at face value, possibly in collusion with the administration.

This Parliament owes it to the people of Sri Lanka to demand transparency and accountability by initiating an independent inquiry to determine the purchase prices of these bonds, the extent of concessions offered, and whether public trust was compromised in favour of private gain. Another matter of profound national importance—the Domestic Debt Optimization (DDO) initiative, which I contend represents Sri Lanka’s third and most extensive bond scandal. This scheme, orchestrated under the stewardship of then-Finance Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, mirrors the malfeasance of previous bond scams and inflicts severe economic injustice upon our working class.

In February 2015, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) was embroiled in a bond scandal involving the issuance of Rs. 1 billion in 30-year government bonds. The auction controversially accepted bids totaling Rs. 10 billion, significantly exceeding the initial offer, leading to an estimated loss of over $11 million for the nation. This incident, among others, has eroded public trust in our financial institutions.

The DDO was presented as a strategy to reduce the government’s liability to the public. However, a critical examination reveals a more sinister agenda. The Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF), the primary retirement savings of our private-sector employees, was compelled to exchange its Treasury bonds under the DDO programme

This maneuver effectively transferred substantial wealth from the EPF to a select group of beneficiaries, including: Licensed Primary Dealers, · Licensed Commercial Banks and· Non-Bank Financial Institutions

The exact magnitude of the windfall gains reaped by these entities remains undisclosed, raising serious concerns about transparency and accountability.

Calling for independent inquiry, MP Hakeem said: It is imperative that an independent investigation be conducted to: (i) Quantify the Wealth Transfer: Determine the total value siphoned from the working population’s retirement funds to the affluent few (ii) Assess Tax Revenue: Ascertain the amount of tax revenue the government accrued from these windfall profits.

Such an inquiry is essential to uphold justice and restore public confidence in our financial governance, the former Minister said.