Bank of Ceylon GM sent on leave pending inquiry
View(s):Bank of Ceylon (BOC) General Manager D.M. Gunasekara has been sent on leave pending investigations to ensure the conduct of ‘independent and impartial’ investigations, the bank chairman said on Wednesday.
“We will take all steps to complete these investigations and clear the issues, within a short period of time,” said BOC Chairman Ronald C. Perera in a media statement.
The statement didn’t give any details of the investigation or on what particular issues. Last week, Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake said the ministry was sending a team of investigators to Seychelles to probe allegations of illegal transfer of funds and assets during the former regime.
He was quoted as saying that the Central Bank is also probing the reasons why a Bank of Ceylon branch was set up in 2011 in the Seychelles where there are only about 64 Sri Lankans.
In his statement, Mr. Perera said it is necessary for the bank’s board of directors to determine the exposures to risk of several key functional areas of the bank as well as to conduct special purpose audits, via the deployment of internal and external auditors. “As the bankers to the nation, we are not only serving our stakeholders to fulfill their financial needs but also committed to maintaining practices of good governance, at the highest levels,” he said.