Suspects in CIFL case bailed out
View(s):Chulaka Gunawardena alias Deepthi Perera, former chairman of the failed Central Investment and Finance (CIFL) and two other suspects in the CIFL fraud case were allowed bail on Friday by the Colombo Chief Magistrate Gihan Pilapitiya. The other two suspects are J.K. Wickramaratne, former CIFL CEO and S.B. Kondadeniya, a former CIFL director.
At Friday’s hearing both the Central Bank (CB) and the CIFL Depositors Association (CIFLDA) rejected the revival plan submitted by the first suspect. After the submissions of the counsel for the accused, CB, CID and CIFLDA the magistrate ordered the suspects to be released on bail and directed Mr. Perera to submit to court within three months a scheme that offers satisfactory relief to depositors. The case was postponed to 22 October.
The suspect better known as Deepthi Perera had been on the run and hiding in Cambodia since after 2009 when the finance company began to collapse and shocked depositors stopping receiving interest payments or were unable to withdraw their money.
Earlier the CIFL depositors received a major blow when the case instituted by the CIFLDA against the CB in the Appeal Court and the stay order granted in September 2013 by court was vacated without hearing the case.
In mid 2014, CIFLDA monitoring the stock market found one individual, believed to be a politically powerful government advisor, to be continuously buying CIFL shares in large numbers worth Rs. 250,000 for a few days. The CIFLDA appealed to the Supreme Court against the Appeal Court order, but the CB asked the depositors to get the Supreme Court case withdrawn on the undertaking that the CB would find a suitable investor to revive the failed CIFL but never found an investor.
(Quintus)