State Enterprises Development Minister Kabir Hashim and Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama have been summoned to appear before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry Presidential Commission of Inquiry to Investigate and Inquire into the Issuances of the Treasury bonds probing the controversial Treasury Bonds issue today. The two Ministers were summoned to provide explanations on certain matters that arose in evidence given before the Commission.
They would be giving evidence and clarifications on several meetings that had allegedly taken place in February 2015, in which they had participated with former Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake and former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran. One such meeting had taken place a day prior to the controversial Treasury bond auction of the Central Bank, where the four individuals had allegedly discussed the immediate monetary needs of the Government for road development work.
The two ministers will also be questioned on the matter of document AM-22, an undated letter which had been sent by former Minister Karunanayake to Mahendran, clarifying the details of the February meeting. Both Mahendran and Karunanayake, giving evidence before the Commission, had noted that the letter was compiled before Mahendran – on his request to Karunanayake – was summoned before the first Committee of Public Enterprise (COPE) inquiry into the matter.
The Attorney General’s Department has maintained that this document had been created to mislead the Commission’s inquiry.
