Bond scam case against former CBSL governor postponed

Bond scam case against former Central Bank governor postponed to October 30Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama ordered the Bribery Commission today (21) to recall the case filed against former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran on 30 October over the 2015 bond issue that allegedly caused a loss exceeding 10 billion rupees to the government.

The magistrate also instructed the commission to report back to the court after taking appropriate steps regarding the suspect according to proper procedures. During the hearing, the magistrate noted that the Colombo Chief Magistrate's Court issued notices on the previous court date instructing the suspect to appear before the court.

Officers representing the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption submitted facts to the court on the previous date, pointing out that investigations conducted so far provide sufficient grounds to prosecute former Governor Arjuna Mahendran under corruption charges defined in the Bribery Act.

The Bribery Commission filed the complaint after reviewing a case which states that the 27 February 2015 bond auction caused a loss exceeding 10 billion rupees to the government. The commission stated that Arjuna Mahendran remains named as a suspect in the incident.

Authorities filed the lawsuit under 23 indictments, including causing a 688 million rupee loss to the government during the February 27 bond auction in 2015. Following a study of investigation extracts submitted by the Criminal Investigation Department, the Attorney General previously filed 23 indictments before the Permanent High Court-at-Bar of the Western Province against ten defendants, including former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran, former Deputy Governor P. Samarasiri, and Perpetual Treasuries Ltd owner Arjun Aloysius.