Ex SEC chief Nalaka skips FCID questioning on legal grounds
View(s):Former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Nalaka Godahewa – who authorities want to question over a number of alleged irregularities – this week absented himself from being questioned by the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) by raising legal objections, informed sources said.
Dr. Godahewa, who has become an active campaigner for the opposition UPFA, was represented at the FCID by his lawyers who told investigators that their client would be available for questioning only after the August 17 parliamentary election. This follows a ruling by the Elections Commission barring the FCID from investigating candidates or others involved in campaigning during the election period.
The FCID is probing many issues relating to Dr. Godahewa’s past positions at Sri Lanka Insurance (SLI) and SEC, and stock market transactions pertaining to Lanka Hospitals. He was a former Managing Director of SLI and later its’ Competent Authority, chairman of Sri Lanka Tourism and a director at Lanka Hospitals.
The FCID is investigating into a number of transactions at the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) during the recent past, including insider trading and market manipulation. These irregularities are alleged to have taken place between 2009 and 2014 at Lanka Hospitals under the chairmanship of former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa.