Govt. has no intention to bring bond rogues to book: Cabraal
Former Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal said yesterday the government was taking extreme measures to control the damage caused by the Central Bank (CB) bond scam instead of taking action to bring the culprits to book.
He said top leaders of the government including President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and former president Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga are trying to divert people’ attention to frauds which had allegedly taken place in the past. “The government should take action with regard to the fraud which had been proved today instead of pointing finger at alleged fraud incidents. The President and the Premier are vociferous today in making statements over the ‘likelihood’ of bond irregularities happened from 2008 to 2014,” Cabraal told a news briefing organized by the Patriotic Professional Forum in Colombo.
He said the report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCOI) into Central Bank bond issuance, lacks some of the evidence which deemed important during the recording of evidence.
“We respect the PCOI but we would like to highlight some of the points which we think require the attention. The aiding and abetting of the bond scam should also be looked at. The Prime Minister took responsibility of appointing Arjuna Mahendran as CB Governor and utilized the UNP to cover up the scam. The President approved the appointment of Mahendran and dissolved Parliament to protect the Premier,” he said.