‘CB NOT PROVIDING INFORMATION TO COPE IS NOT TRUE’

The reports which said the Central Bank had not provided information to the Parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprise (COPE) is not true, a press release issued by the Director Information said yesterday.

“According to the reports COPE has requested information from the Central Bank so that it could forward them to the COPE but the request had been turned down. This is not true. The Central Bank is obliged under Article 154 (5) of the Constitution and Article 43 of the Financial Act to supply the Auditor General with information and documentation in its possession for auditing purposes,” the statement said.

Further the statement said the Attorney-general has sent a directive to the Central Bank and the Auditor General on 12th February 2004 instructing them to refrain from publishing information classified as sensitive and should the need arise to publish it should be done only in agreement with the Central Bank.

“Based on the directive of the Attorney-general and the tradition of safeguarding its confidentiality the Central Bank does not permit its sensitive information to be taken outside. However, officials of the Auditor General’s Department could visit the Central Bank at any time and gather information from its various departments and inspect its documentation,” the statement said.

“The Central Bank has acted in accordance with this directive since it was issued in 2004 by the Attorney General. In addition when the Auditor General’s Department queried about the bonds on 3rd June 2016 Central Bank informed it that officials of the Auditor General’s Department could visit the Central Bank at any time and obtain the necessary information and inspect documentation,” it added.