Dr. Nonis hits back at SEC

Chairman of Mackwoods Plantations Pvt Ltd, Dr Chrishantha Nonis said that the sale of 60.8% shares of the Agalawatte Plantations PLC was carried out with due authorization and instructions being issued to the stock broker.

In a response to the directive issued by the Securities and Exchanges Commission on 20th July, Dr. Nonis stated, “the action by the SEC in issuing a directive on a complaint made by non-shareholders, without making any formal inquiries into the matter, is highly questionable”. “The sale of Agalawatte shares was completed on 14th July 2016 and six days after the share transaction was concluded, the SEC on 20th July issued a directive stating that shareholder approval had not been obtained.”

“The stock broking firm has informed the SEC that the contents in the directive are incorrect in that the instructions received were not only from Dr. Chris Nonis but also from Mrs. Shelendra Ranaweera and Mr. Lalith Fonseka, which information was available to the SEC.”

The letter further states that the SEC should not interfere with the internal affairs of Mackwoods Plantations (Private) Ltd, and has requested that the SEC withdraw its allegations.