Two High Commissioners, three Ambassadors and an Apostolic Nuncio-designate of the Holy See presented their credentials to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake at the Presidential Secretariat this morning (20).

The ceremony, held at 10.00 a.m., followed the formal order of precedence, with the envoys representing Papua New Guinea, Somalia, Luxembourg, the Holy See, Pakistan and Kuwait.

Accordingly, diplomats who presented their credentials were:

01. Vincent Sumale, High Commissioner-designate of Papua New Guinea (Based in New Delhi)

02. Abdullahi Mohammed Odowa, Ambassador-designate of Somalia (Based in New Delhi)

03. Christian Biever, Ambassador-designate of Luxembourg (Based in New Delhi)

04. Monsignor Andrzej Józwowicz, Apostolic Nuncio-designate of the Holy See

05. Major General (Retd) Nayyar Naseer, High Commissioner-designate of Pakistan

06. Saleh Mubarak Al-Sarawi, Ambassador-designate of Kuwait

Following the presentation of credentials, the President engaged in a cordial discussion with them. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Vijitha Herath, and the Secretary to the President, Dr Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, were also in attendance.

The National Development Bank PLC (NDB), in consultation with the Central Bank, will soon appoint an international firm to conduct a comprehensive forensic audit into the Rs 13.2 billion bank fraud, currently being investigated by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

Controversy surrounds the failure on the part of relevant authorities to detect the massive scam that certain employees started perpetrating in mid-2024.

Declaring that day-to-day developments, relating to the NDB PLC, were under scrutiny, the Central Bank said that the NDB, in consultation with CBSL, was in the process of finalising arrangements to engage a leading international firm, with experts from overseas, to conduct a comprehensive forensic audit into the incident.

The Central Bank stated: “The scope of this audit will apart from matters directly related to the commission of this fraud, also fully address and assess any failures on compliance with regulatory requirements on control, oversight and governance during the period in which the fraudulent transactions took place. The forensic audit is expected to commence shortly, and its progress, including any interim findings as well as the final report, will be submitted directly to CBSL who will directly engage with the auditors to the extent considered necessary during the audit.

In parallel, CBSL has directed NDB to take immediate and expeditious measures to strengthen its internal controls and governance processes, with particular focus on addressing identified lapses. NDB has also been required to commission an independent third-party review to assess the adequacy and effectiveness of its policies, procedures, systems, and internal controls.

NDB continues to meet all regulatory requirements relating to capital and liquidity. CBSL remains in close and continuous engagement with the Board and management of NDB, as well as other relevant stakeholders, and stands ready to take any further measures necessary to safeguard the interests of depositors and ensure the stability of the financial system. There is no evidence of any other regulated financial institution suffering any loss arising from the incident at NDB and the public are requested not to be misled by any statements to the contrary made in various fora.”

NDB board directors include Sujeewa Mudalige – former Managing Partner of PwC / Past President of CA Sri Lanka, Hasitha Premaratne – Managing Director of Brandix Group, Shanil Fernando – founding member of Virtusa Corporation and Co-Founder of Sysco Labs, Bernard Sinniah – former Managing Director of Citibank and Kasturi Chellaraja – former Group CEO of Hemas Holdings PLC.

The external auditors of NDB Bank PLC is Ernst & Young.

Meanwhile, the Committee on Public Finance (CoPF) that recently met under the Chairmanship of Member of Parliament Dr. Harsha de Silva observed, with serious concern, that there appear to have been considerable lapses in corporate governance at the bank, deficiencies in supervision by the relevant departments of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, and undue delays in the reporting of material information.

The Committee firmly underscored that such shortcomings are unacceptable and directed that immediate corrective measures be undertaken. It further emphasised that it will continue to closely monitor this matter and exercise stringent oversight to ensure full accountability, transparency, and the safeguarding of public confidence in the financial system.

The NDB issue was dealt with when the Governor of the Central Bank Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, along with members of the Governing Board, the Monetary Policy Board, and senior officials, attended the meeting as part of the Central Bank’s statutory presentation to Parliament conducted once every four months.

Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith and Bishop Anton Ranjith will preside over the Easter Sunday commemoration event at St. Anthony’s Church Kochchikade today (21).

The event will begin at 8.45 am with the ringing of the funeral bell once, followed by two minutes of silence in memory of all victims.

Bishop Maxwell Silva and Bishop J.D. Anthony will lead the prayers at Katuwapitiya St. Sebastian Church where the holy mass is scheduled to commence at 7 am.

A prayer march will begin at Maris Stella College, Negombo, at 4.00 pm, today (21), and end at Katuwapitiya Church where over 100 persons died.