Bond scam case against Arjuna Mahendran, others fixed for pre-trial conference
COLOMBO – The Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar on Wednesday (9) ordered that the long-delayed case against former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran and other accused over the controversial 2015 Treasury bond auction be taken up again on November 24 for a pre-trial conference.
The case was called before a three-judge bench comprising High Court Judges Priyantha Liyanage, Viraj Weerasuriya and Tilakaratne Bandara.
The Attorney General has filed indictments against the accused over allegations that irregularities in the Treasury bond auction held on February 27, 2015 caused a loss of approximately Rs 688 million to the State. The indictments contain 23 charges under provisions including the Public Property Act and other relevant laws.
Those named in the case include former Central Bank Deputy Governor Paththinige Samarasiri, Perpetual Treasuries Limited (PTL), PTL’s beneficial owner Arjun Aloysius, its Chief Executive Officer Kasun Oshadhi Palisena, and several company directors, including Geoffrey Joseph Aloysius,Pushyamithra Gunawardena, Chitta Ranjan Hulugalle and Muthuraja Surendran.
Former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran, the first accused, was not present in court. A warrant had previously been issued for his arrest, and court proceedings have been affected by his absence from Sri Lanka.
When the case was taken up on Wednesday, President’s Counsel Navin Marapana, appearing for several accused, raised the issue of representation for Perpetual Treasuries Limited, which has also been named as an accused in the case.
Counsel submitted that no representative had appeared on behalf of the company and noted that PTL had ceased operations following regulatory action taken by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
Deputy Solicitor General Janaka Bandara, appearing for the Attorney General, requested that the pre-trial proceedings be postponed until a decision is made regarding representation for the company.
Accordingly, the three-judge bench fixed the matter for November 24 for the pre-trial conference.
–ENCL
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