Forensic audits on bonds trigger alarm bells
View(s):The forensic audits conducted by two international consulting agencies – BDO and KPMG – on the issuance of Treasury bonds and government securities from January 2002 to end February 2015 is certain to raise alarm bells, observers said.
The six reports, a synopsis of which is contained on Page 8 and Page 9 of the Business Times today, entered the public domain on Thursday after it was tabled in Parliament with access to MPs.
The reports cover the period of two governments, exposes links between officials of the Employees Provident Fund and private dealers, links between former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran and Perpetual Treasuries Ltd, the company owned by his son-in-law Arjun Aloysius, and also raises conflict of interest issues pertaining to former Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal.
The BDO reports said Sri Lanka is likely to have lost up to Rs.10.4 billion during direct placements of bonds made by-passing auctions between 2005 and 2015.