Sri Lankan President under pressure to sack top banker
The government should sack Sri Lanka’s Central Bank chief Arjuna Mahendran if his conduct has been found “undesirable”, the country’s Petroleum Minister today demanded amid allegations that the top banker’s son-in- law benefited unduly from a USD 76 million bond auction.
The demand has piled pressure on President Maithripala Sirisena, who won elections in January last year on a promise to end cronyism and corruption, from his own Freedom Party.
“If (Mahendran’s) conduct had been found undesirable he should be removed for the good of the President and the Prime Minister,” Minister of Petroleum Chandima Weerakkody said.
Mahendran, who was appointed as Central Bank Governor by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, has been under fire since March last year after his son-in-law was accused of unduly benefiting from a USD 76 million bond auction.
The opposition and local media have alleged that the bonds were issued at an above-market interest rate and that a company owned by Mahendran’s son-in-law bought about half of the bonds.
They allege that the family member benefited from inside information about the rate and volume of bonds the bank planned to issue.
The Central Bank governor, whose term is set to end at the end of this month, has denied any wrongdoing.
(PTI)
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Has our black coated Prime Minister got any sense of shame and our own President to stand and stare like a scarecrow and watch their own nominee ruining the country to the tune of 76 millions of USD ?
To compensate to the errors, do please set a margin of I00 million USD for anyone ( citizenship immaterial ) to scrounge the country or the Treasury . FCID and similar law enforcing institutions may be instructed to act accordingly. Our leaders both past and present can rise like Heroes and Giants.
What a carry on.
It is Mahendran’s Uncle Ranil who has to decide and not the president????????????.
The Hon Minister said “If (Mahendran’s) conduct had been found undesirable he should be removed..”
Mr Mahendran was hauled in front of many committees, Courts and other fora with accusations of corruption and misdoings.
Mr Mahendran has emerged victorious and has answered his critics and detractors, satisfactorily.
Mr Mahendran’s immediate family had interests in financial companies; however they have relinquished control over the companies to enable Mr Mahendran to serve as an uncompromising, efficient and clean Governor of the Central Bank.
Mr Mahendran has a pretty significant disadvantage; all the false accusations and innuendo are based on his ethnic background. He is the first tamil speaking chief of the CB and perhaps, the last.
The government is led by a halfwit who bases his arguments on false premises and then sells his ideas to an equally dumb president who is as is the case is left speechless. He is yet again trying to sell that dumb ass Mahendran who had connections with the King of insider trading Rajaratnam sent to jail for 12 years and fines of over millions dollars. On his release he will be quarantined from the financial world and so he needs crooks like Mahendran to run his crooked operations and there is no better place than SL with a ba nkrupt economy that by law allows to launder $$$$
Bond Mahendran is the biggest crook in the Yahapalana administration.
Bond Mahendran was closely associated with insider trader Rajaratnam in the recent past.
Has Bond Mahendran ever divulged his financial status as is required of public servants in Sri Lanka?
Is is very strange that every one agrees Mahedran has to go but Antoun ( should it not be Anton) thinks other wise. Wonder if that has any thing to do with ethnic back ground. I wonder!!!!