November 02, Colombo (LNW):The Colombo Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar bench has ordered that the case filed against former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran and other defendants concerning the Central Bank of Sri Lanka bond incident, which sparked significant controversy during the previous ‘Yahapalana’ government be taken up on January 28 for a pre-trial conference.
The case was called today (02) before the Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar bench, presided over by Judge Priyantha Liyanage.
Several suspects appeared before the court, including Perpetual Treasuries Limited directors Arjuna Aloysius, Geoffrey Aloysius, and Kasun Palisena. Also present were former Central Bank of Sri Lanka Deputy Governor Paththinige Samarasiri, Muthuraja Surendran, Chitta Ranjan Hulugalle, and P. Gunawardena. However, the court had previously decided to proceed with the trial in the absence of former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran and Ajahn Gardiya Punchihewa, who are named as defendants in this case.
During the proceedings, lawyers representing certain defendants informed the court that they had not yet received some of the documents relevant to the case.
Having considered the submissions, the bench ordered Senior State Counsel Oswald Perera—appearing on behalf of the Attorney General—to take steps to provide the necessary documents to the defense prior to the next date of hearing.
The Attorney General has filed these indictments under the Public Property Act against former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran and other defendants, in connection with a loss of 688 million rupees caused to the government during a bond auction conducted by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka on February 27, 2015.
