No mention of a Rajapaksa era bond fraud in the report: PHU

The Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) today said the bond report had not made any reference to a Rs.4,000 billion worth of bond transaction frauds which had allegedly taken place during the Rajapaksa era as claimed by the President and the Prime Minister.

PHU Leader and MP Udaya Gammanpila said both the President and Prime Minister continue to say that the bond report had mentioned about Rs.4,000 billion worth of bond frauds had taken place during the previous government's time.

“I read the 945-page long bond report from the beginning till the end. I only have to go through appendices now. The report has made no reference to such a fraud during the Rajapaksa regime as claimed. I challenge those who made these claims to show where such a thing had been mentioned in the report," he told a news briefing.

He said there is a significant mention on page numbered 915 of the bond report among recommendations.

“The 11th recommendation says there is adequate evidence to form the view that there is a likelihood that some irregularities have taken place in the acceptance of Direct Placements (DP) prior to 2015,” he said.

The report recommends that an appropriate investigation, a forensic audit, be carried out to ascertain whether there were significant irregularities in the acceptance of DP during the period of 2008 to 2014 and if so, to identify the officers of the Public Dept Department and the superior officers of the Central Bank, primary dealers and others responsible.

“Other than this, the report doesn’t say a fraud of Rs.4,000 billion had taken place during the Rajapaksa regime," he said. (Lahiru Pothmulla)

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