On a Supreme Court directive, the Golden Key Credit Card Company (GKCC) repayment process is reverting back to the old process of being under the directions of the Central Bank (CB) and the Committee of Chartered Accountants headed by Prof. Lakshman R. Watawala, a senior CB official said.
The Court on Thursday directed the Attorney General to inform the CB Governor to set up a separate secretariat to assist the Watawala Committee to expedite the payment to all the depositors in the Golden Key, before June 30, 2012. It made the order when he Fundamental Rights case filed by the depositors was taken up before a 3-member beach comprising Chief Justice Shiranee Bandaranaike, and Justices Gamini Amaratunga and K. Sripavan.
The Court also ordered the Watawala Committee to sell Golden Key ENT Hospital at Rajagiriya, the Golden Key Children’s Hospital at Narahenpita and three floors of the Ceylinco House at Fort, Colombo 1 to raise funds for the repayments. The advertisements calling for offers are to be published on December 15.
Earlier the GK repayment plan which is more in the nature of a Business Plan agreed upon by GK directors and depositors and approved by the 3-member bench headed by Justice Shirani Thilakawardane on June 29 has not materialized, due to the failure to present modalities of the plan and an official report on GK’s statusquo to the Court.
The much anticipated appointment of five directors to the proposed holding company under the repayment plan deadlocked following objections raised by the Attorney General against the inclusion of two former top GK executives Khavan Perera and Saradha Sumanasekera. Criminal indictments are to be served on them in connection with the 26 billion-rupee GK scam, AG's department sources said.
A GK secretariat was set up at the CB in 2009 on a Court directive to carry out the repayment process and two installments of Rs.100,000 each on the basis of either 75 percent of the security deposit balances or Rs. 100,000, whichever is lower after verification by the auditors. This process was discontinued following the Court order to implement the repayment plan approved on June 29. |
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