News
Tampering with witness a criminal offence- CoI orders legal action
An attempt to coerce a witness who testified before the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the Treasury Bond (TB) issue, came to light during this week’s proceedings, prompting the Bench to direct the Attorney General’s (AG) Dept to take legal action against those who attempted to tamper with a witness.
Deputy General Manager of Pan Asia Bank (PAB), Aruna Dias, on Friday told the CoI that former PAB Chairman Nimal Perera and Arjuna Aloysius of Perpetual Treasuries Ltd (PTL), the Primary Dealer (PD) in TBs, who is under investigation for wrongdoing, had spoken to him over the telephone, after he had made a statement to the police division of the CoI and, he felt this was an attempt to prevent him from giving truthful evidence before the CoI. The witness also placed before the CoI dates, times and other details of the calls he had received from Perera and Aloysius.
CoI member Justice Prasanna Jayawardena said any attempt to tamper with a witness who has been summoned before the CoI, tantamounts to a criminal offence, and directed the AG’s Dept look into this matter and see if legal action can be taken in this connection. Senior Assistant Solicitor General Dappula de Livera P.C. said he would inquire into the matter.
In his evidence, the PAB employee said they made him offers of employment if he faced any problem regarding his present employment. When he visited the residence of Arjun Aloysius, on an invitation, on June 30, he had told Dias that the next two weeks of proceedings of the CoI would be decisive and asked for his help.
During the course of this week, the PAB official disclosed to the CoI that the Bank had acted as an intermediary between PTL and the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) on the instructions of its former Chairman Nimal Perera. He said the bulk of the TBs purchased by PTL in the February 2015, TB auction, had been sold to the EPF at a higher rate, when the EPF had the opportunity to buy the same TBs in the primary market at a lower rate.
Nimal Meegolla, Bank of Ceylon’s former chief dealer who gave evidence earlier this week said, former Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayaka’s presence at a meeting of CEOs of PDs on March 2015, was unprecedented. He said no Finance Minister, to his knowledge, had been present at such meetings previously.
Mr Meegolla who is now Asst. General Manager of Natwealth Securities Ltd, said the CEOs present had raised concerns regarding the TB auction of February that year and the Minister had promised to look into it.
The 3-member CoI comprising Supreme Court Justices K.T. Chitrasiri (Head) and Prasanna Jayawardana, and retired Deputy Auditor General Kandasamy Velupillai, will resume sittings at 10 am on Monday.