Mahendran Misused Rs 66 Mn of CB Funds

Joint Opposition member,  MP Bandula Gunawardane said yesterday,  that  the  former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran had misused Rs. 66 million  of Central Bank funds on 163 occasion  during a period of 17 months for his personal purposes.  He quoted internal audit report of the Central Bank for the relevant period.

Bandula Gunawardane alleged that Mahendran had engaged in these financial impropriations with regard to the foreign travel and other expenses between February 1, 2015 and June 30, 2016.

He  has violated the Schedule III of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Travelling Allowance Rules.

He highlighted  Mahendran’s stay in   ITC Maurya in Gurgaon, Imperial Hotel in New Delhi and Taj Palace F01 in New Delhi on March 10 – 13, 2016. However, the conference was held in Taj Palace, New Delhi.

Further , he said the internal audit report  denoted that the monthly average expenses incurred through credit card by Mahendran exceeding Rs. 2.1 million even though the monthly average official expenses incurred by him were Rs. 1.5 million.

He requested the authorities to provide the Joint Opposition with an opportunity to reveal those facts to the Special Presidential Commission which has been appointed by President Maithripala Sirisena.