Counsel raises question on CJ
Counsel for petitioner Sujeeva Senasinghe asked Chief Justice Mohan Peiris to consider whether it is prudent to take up before him the rights petition on the controversial investment on Greek Bonds since he was involved in the activities of the Central Bank.
Counsel Upul Jayasuriya in the course of the proceedings in the case pleaded whether it could be taken up before him as he had been involved in the activities of the Central Bank in a personal capacity.
The Chief Justice responded he knew all the respondents in the petition and he knew Counsel Upul Jayasuriya for 37 years and told him not to worry.
The Bench comprising Chief Justice Mohan Peiris, Justices K.Sripavan and E.Wanasundera fixed the rights petition for support on March 25.
The petitioner Sujeeva Senasinghe, main opposition UNP Parliamentarian, in his fundamental rights petition on the controversial investment on Greek Bonds which resulted in a loss of Rs 2.14 billion of the public fund to the State cited Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal, Monetary Board of the Central Bank and Finance Ministry Secretary P.B.Jayasundara as well as Members of the Monetary Board, International Monetary Cooperation Minister Sarath Amunugama, Auditor General H.A.S.Samaraweera and the At-
The bonds were trading below the face value, entailed a realizable value far below the market value of the secondary market due to the debt crisis the government of Greece was saddled in
torney General as Respondents.
Upul Jayasooriya instructed by Paul Ratnayake Associates appeared for the Petitioner. Deputy Solicitor General Sanjay Rajaratnam with Senior State Counsel Sahida Barrie appeared for the Respondents.
Petitioner states that the Central Bank on April 5, 2011 invested in Greek Government bonds which had a face value of EUR 30,000,000 for EUR 22,163,500 (Rs 3,472,576,045), purchased from the secondary market through intermediaries namely Morgan Stantley, Jefferies & Com. Inc, Royal Bank of Scotland, Commerzbank AG.
The bonds were trading below the face value, entailed a realizable value far below the market value of the secondary market due to the debt crisis the government of Greece was saddled in, he states.
The said Bonds were purchased through the intermedia-
The Chief Justice responded he knew all the respondents
ries paying a high price when the actual value was far below the price that was paid for the purchase, he alleges.
At the time of the investment, Greece was entrapped in a debt crisis and international financial rating agencies had downgraded its economic outlook and its ability to maintain financial obligations, he points out.
The high risk involved and volatility in investing in Greek government bonds is common knowledge and does not require careful scrutiny or consideration of market conditions by professional researchers, he states.
The Greek economy has been in dire straits since early 2008 and has continued to further deteriorate and despite the alarming risk factor, the Central Bank did not pay any heed to take into consideration of market trends and the projections based on he research papers and instead chose to obtain the prior approval of the Monetary Board despite the clear risk in a surreptitious manner with no transparency, he alleges.