Those responsible for fraud will have to pay back -Ranil

Bond issue

Those who are responsible for any fraud involving the bond issue will be made to pay back for any losses they may have caused to the nation through taxes, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday said.

Addressing an election rally in Kirulapone last evening, Mr. Wickremesinghe said it had been the Bank of Ceylon and Perpetual treasuries whose board of directors include the son-in-law of Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran and the sister of former Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal, that had been involved in a shady deal. If the foreign buyers are given a high rate for dollar bonds, I don’t see why a higher interest cannot be given to locals

He said the United National Front for Good Governance (UNFGG), if elected to power, would appoint a special select committee to probe the controversial bond issue and penalize those who are found guilty before 2016.

Defending the bond issue he said all that was done in the issue was to give an opportunity for the Sri Lankan public to earn a higher interest.

“If the foreign buyers are given a high rate for dollar bonds, I don’t see why a higher interest cannot be given to locals,” he said. He further said those who were accused of frauds in the previous government would be severely dealt with after August 17 in accordance with the law. If the UNFGG was elected to office, new laws would be introduced to curb corruption, Mr. Wickremesinghe said.