Govt. ignored undertaking given to SC: GK depositors

A group of Golden Key depositors said the government had ignored the undertaking given to the the Supreme Court in August 2015 by failing to pay the depositors within a year 41% of the funds deposited with the company.

On August 4, 2015, the court case filed by Golden Key depositors in the Supreme Court was concluded after six years, based on an undertaking given by the Central Bank Monetary Board, the Treasury Secretary, the then Finance Minister and the then Governor of the CBSL.

The undertaking was to pay:

* Within a month of the termination of the FR case a 41% of the deposits to those who had deposited less than Rs.2 million while those with deposits of more than Rs.2 million and less than Rs.10 million to be paid 41% of their deposits within two months. These two categories were repaid as stipulated.

* Those who had deposited more than Rs.10 million were to be paid 41% of their deposits within a year but this repayment was not carried out as undertaken.

The depositors claim that the CBSL had failed to make the repayments even by November 2016 though the reimbursement was undertaken to be carried out within a year from August 4, 2015.

Consequently, these depositors filed another application in the SC in November 2016 against the Monetary Board, its members, the CB Governor, the Minister of Finance and the Secretary to the Treasury alleging Contempt of Court for failing to comply with the court order.

The undertaking was given following an intervention into the ongoing fundamental rights petition, where the aggrieved depositors’ money was being paid according to tSC orders, the then Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake and then Governor Arjun Mahendran, on May 18, 2015, had requested the Court to appoint an auditor to conduct a financial and a legal audit of GKCCL to formulate a repayment plan to settle the depositors.

They also sought S C approval to give a time bound repayment plan to be implemented under the CBSL and therefore to conclude the ongoing FR application.

What the Monetary Board of the Central Bank actually undertook to pay was the 41% of the deposit value after deducting payments already made on a time scale.

However, speaking to the Daily Mirror Senior Counsel Heejaz Hisbulla who appeared for the petitioners sai at that moment he had requested the Court to loo into the undertaking more deeply since the case itself was the only way that depositors could obtain a relief.

According to Mr. Hejaaz, the then Chief Justice Sripavan had also looked into whether there was an actual approval from the Cabinet to repay such amount. However, the Attorney General was of the view at that time that the undertaking was a legitimate one.

"During the hearing of the case, Attorney General’s Department assured at the Supreme Court that due amount would be paid soon. Then the repayment process started for the depositors who had deposits above Rs. 10 million at the GKCCL," Counsel Hisbulla said.

However, some of the depositors claim that some Rs.1 billion was still to be paid to the depositors by the government but not a single payment made for 13 months. (Shehan Chamika Silva)