Connect with us

News

SLMC calls for probe into agreement signed with bondholders, others ahead of presidential election

Published

2 years ago

on

Rauf Hakeem

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.


Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

News

Geneva takes up Sallay’s case and govt. ignores opportunity to answer accusations

Published

8 hours ago

on

2026/10/5

By

Suresh Sallay

The government has chosen not to respond to questions raised by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) regarding the detention of retired Maj. Gen. Suresh Sallay in connection with the ongoing investigations into the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested the ex-official in late February this year. The Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health and the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers have jointly raised the issue on 20 July, 2026.

Drawing attention of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to what they called alleged arbitrary detention of Sallay, former Director General of the State Intelligence Service (SIS) and former Director of Military Intelligence (DMI), under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), as well as allegations of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment while in custody, resulting in the grave deterioration of his health, and imminent risks of retaliation through further torture and ill-treatment resulting in irreparable harm, should he be released from hospital and returned to custody, the UN sought the government explanation with a 60-day period.

The UN has stated: “This communication, and any response received from your Excellency’s Government, will be made public via the communications reporting website at the 60 days mark. Should your Excellency’s Government respond within 60 days, both the communication and the response, may be published before the 60 days mark. The communications and responses

will also be made available in the subsequent periodic report to be presented to the Human Rights Council.”

In the absence of the government’s response, the UN posted the letter, dated 20 July, 2026, addressed to President Dissanayake. The full letter can be accessed https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=31125

Continue Reading

News

Section of wartime KKS High Security Zone vacated to facilitate economic development in the area

Published

8 hours ago

on

2026/10/5

By

The Army, last week, vacated an area, within the wartime high security zone in the Jaffna peninsula. The Defence Ministry said that an extent of 187.56 acres of land, belonging to the Cement Corporation in Kankesanthurai, Jaffna, has been released by the military. The released land, located in Grama Niladhari Division J/233, Kankesanthurai West, within the Valikamam North (Tellippalai) Divisional Secretariat Division, had been utilised by the Sri Lanka Army since the middle of 1997.

The release of the 187.56-acre extent forms part of the initiative to make State land available for the proposed investment zone in Kankesanthurai, thereby facilitating future investment and economic development in the area.

Continue Reading

News

Lawyer lodges complaint against Govt. Printer, Media Ministry Secy.

Published

8 hours ago

on

2026/10/5

By

A complaint has been lodged with the Colombo Fraud Investigation Bureau against the Government Printer and the Secretary to the Ministry of Media regarding the online release of falsified documents bearing a forged Speaker’s certificate.

Attorney-at-Law Aruna Laksiri has lodged a complaint with the Colombo Fraud Investigation Bureau requesting legal action against the Government Printer of the Department of Government Printing (No. 118, Dr. Danister de Silva Mawatha, Colombo 08), Prasanna Jayaratne, and the Secretary to the Ministry of Mass Media (Asidisi Medura, 163, Kirulapone Mawatha, Polhengoda, Colombo 05), Dr. Anil Jasinghe.

The complaint alleges the commission of offences by forging and uploading falsified documents online using a forged Speaker’s certification, failure to perform statutory duties, and misappropriation of public property.

The complaint states that a copy of the English translation of the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution was downloaded and printed from the official website of the Government Printing Department (www.documents.gov.lk), which operates under the Ministry of Mass Media. On its outer cover and on page 1, the text “certified on 25th of September, 2026” is inscribed inside brackets.

The complaint pointed out that the Speaker has certified an English translation. Under Articles 23, 79, 83, and 80 of the Constitution, Parliament enacts laws and the Speaker certifies bills strictly in the Sinhala and Tamil languages; under the Constitution, therefore the Speaker cannot apply such certification to an English translation.

Continue Reading

Trending