SEC probe against former Nawaloka director still on

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), is awaiting a response from the Attorney General’s Department on the alleged insider dealings case involving a couple (both chartered accountants) and their daughter, SEC officials said.

The AG’s advice has been sought on whether they could proceed with the case or not based on the available evidence. “We are waiting for the AG’s recommendations on this,” one official said.

In March the SEC filed a complaint in the Fort Magistrate’s Court against Sunil Piyawardena, Chandra Piyawardena and their daughter Chamila Wijeyanthi Piyawardena on offences relating to “conspiracy in the commission of insider dealing.”The statement said the charges were framed against Piyawardena on the basis that he was a Director and the Chief Financial Officer of Nawaloka Hospitals Ltd. and a Director of the Company ESES Secretaries (Pvt) Ltd, the company secretary to Nawaloka Hospitals Ltd. and against Mrs Piyawardena on the basis that she was a Director of ESES Secretaries and that both parties traded in the shares of Nawaloka Hospitals Ltd. on the basis of price sensitive information prior to its disclosure to the market.

The couple purchased one million Nawaloka shares each, while the daughter had bought two million shares a total of four million shares, all during a two month period from January 2005 to February 15, 2005, the day Nawaloka announced regional expansion plans. This led to its share prices rising to Rs. 9 per share from Rs. 3 before the announcement.