Meeting between FM,CB CEOs & Primary dealers strange

13 March 2017 08:58 am

The meeting that was attended by the Finance Minister where Central Bank Chief Executive Officers and primary dealers also asked to be present, three weeks after I received a phone call from Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran to accept a bid for Rs. 10 billion was an abnormal occurrence, said Superintendent of the Public Debt Department of the Central Bank Ms. U.L Muthugala, giving evidence before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry to Investigate the Issuance of Central Bank Treasury Bonds.

When Mr. Mahendran informed me over the phone to accept the Rs.10 billion bid, I was compelled to follow his instructions, Ms. Muthugala said.

Replying to a question posed by the Commission Judge Prasanna Jayawardena she said during her long service at the Public Debt Department no former governor had visited her section and spoken to officials while they were doing their duty.

The acceptance of the Rs.10 billion bid also led to a turbulence in the money market, she said.

Evidence was led before the Commission comprising Supreme Court Judges K.T. Chitrasiri, Prasanna Jayawardena and former Auditor General Velupille Kandasamy.

The Presidential Commission of inquiry was appointed to investigate the issuance of treasury bonds during the period from February 1, 2015 to March 31, 2016.

The evidence was led by the Additional Solicitor General appearing for the affairs of the Commission PC Dappula De Livera.(Manopriya Gunasekera)