Access to Forensic Audit reports on bond, EPF transactions to be limited : CBSL

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) says its Monetary Board will limit access to the reports of five Forensic Audits (FA), in keeping with the advice of the Attorney General.

Forensic audits were carried out on the Treasury bond and EPF transactions since 1998, by audit firms BDO India and KPMG, at a cost of Rs 250 million, on cabinet approval.

The final reports have been handed over by the auditors to the Monetary Board, the CBSL said in a statement.

The Monetary Board sought the opinion of the Attorney General about the distribution of the FA reports including, specifically, as to whether the reports should be made public.

The Attorney General (AG), responding to the Monetary Board said that the documents could be used as evidence in investigations, the statement noted.

The AG had indicated according to the statement that “access (to the reports) should be limited to those who have statutory authority to access them."

In addition, the AG had noted that the recipients should “maintain confidentiality in respect of the contents of the reports” to avoid causing a prejudicial effect on ongoing and future investigations.

However, the AG had informed the Monetary Board that extracts of these reports could be released to the public “once the reports and related documents have been fully considered”.

"The public are hereby informed that the Monetary Board will act in accordance with the advice given by the Attorney General," the CBSL announced.

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