SPECIAL REPORT : Part 379
By Shamindra Ferdinando
UNP leader and yahapalana Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was a political devil and the earlier administration in which he served as PM, akin to a mismatched wedding, former President Maithripala Sirisena told the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) investigating the Easter Sunday attacks.
SLFP leader Sirisena told the PCoI that disputes arose between him and Wickremesinghe within the first week of establishing the yahapalana government.
“Within the first week Wickremesinghe wanted to appoint Arjuna Mahendran as the Governor of the Central Bank. I wasn’t happy because Mahendran was a citizen of Singapore. However, Wickremesinghe insisted that Singaporean of Sri Lankan origin Mahendran was the ideal person and since I also did not want to create a conflict, within a week of coming to power, I let it happen,” Sirisena said.
The ex-President said that their relationship further deteriorated after he appointed the Presidential Commission of Inquiry, in January 2017, to investigate the Central Bank Treasury Bond Scams. Mahendran sought refuge in Singapore about a year after the appointment of the PCoI. The Commission comprised Supreme Court Justice K.T. Chitrasiri, the late SC Justice P S Jayawardena and retired Deputy Auditor General V. Kandasamy. Sumathipala Udugamsuriya functioned as its Secretary.
President Sirisena couldn’t convince Singapore to hand over Mahendran to Sri Lanka though he repeatedly vowed to get him.
Mahendran was indicted in June 2019 for causing losses to the government. The Treasury bond scams, the October 2015 Geneva betrayal, in between the two scams and the Easter Sunday carnage, sealed the fate of yahapalana partners, the UNP and the SLFP.
The Joint Opposition/Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna in the run-up to the 2019 presidential and 2020 parliamentary elections, vowed to bring back Mahendran. Recalling how the LTTE financier, living in Malaysia had been brought back in 2009, some JO/SLPP spokespersons vowed to bring back Mahendran.
In spite of a change of government, in Nov 2019, the government hadn’t been able to secure Mahendran’s arrest. Singapore continues to ignore Sri Lanka’s request to hand over Mahendran. It would be pertinent to mention the previous yahapalana administration entered into Free Trade Agreement with Singapore in January 2018. The agreement followed just six rounds of talks beginning July 2016.
Singapore has indicated that handing over of Mahendran is very much unlikely. The Colombo High Court Trial-at-Bar last month ordered the Treasury bond scam case to proceed in spite of the absence of Mahendran and Ajahan Gardiya Punchihewa. Both are abroad. The bench comprised High Court Judges Damith Thotawatte, Manjula Tilakaratne and Mohamed Irshadeen.
This directive was given when the case in respect of the misappropriation of Treasury bonds worth Rs 36 bn at the Central Bank bond auction on March 29, 2016 was taken up in court. It was the far larger second Treasury bond scam perpetrated by Mahendran with the connivance of the then government, the first being the Feb 27, 2015 scam. Altogether, the Attorney General has moved court against 10 persons, including Mahendran for misappropriation of Rs 688 mn in the Treasury bond issue held on Feb 27, 2015. The suspects included Mahendran’s affluent son-in-law Arjun Aloysius, who actually carried out the scams though his firm PTL.
We have grave suspicions about the squeaky clean image that Singapore has been putting out to the world, especially after how it picked up a Supreme Court Judge from here after he went into quiet retirement soon after then President Chandrika Kumaratunga went around the country accusing him of helping an LTTE man to escape justice here. (VINCENDIRAJAN FLED THE COUNTRY NO SOONER HE WAS GIVEN BAIL). And presto that tainted SC Judge was appointed to a respected arbitration panel there. So we cannot believe that a country like Singapore, whose intelligence gathering is second to none didn’t know about our judge’s background or was he picked because of his sordid background?
Stamp launch
Let me reproduce a statement headlined ‘Joint stamp launches in Sri Lanka and Singapore to commemorate 50 years of diplomatic ties’ issued by the Foreign Ministry on July 27, 2021. The following is the text of the statement verbatim: “A joint stamp release ceremony was held at the Foreign Ministry, Sri Lanka, on 27 July to mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties with Singapore which took place on the same day in 1970. This milestone event was held with the participation of the Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Singapore Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan, joining virtually.
The two stamps ceremonially unveiled at the event, were especially designed for the occasion to depict the theme “Marine Conservation”, and showcase the restoration of Coral Ecosystem in Sri Lanka, and Mangroves in Singapore and reflects the shared interest and commitment of both countries in protecting the marine environment.
Speaking at the occasion, Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena highlighted the long standing friendly relations between the two countries, nurtured by deep rooted linkages at community and societal levels. He recalled his meeting with Minister Balakrishnan when both were holding different portfolios and the discussions held on tackling challenges posed by climate change across the globe. Minister Gunawardena said further that the unveiling of commemorative postage stamps to mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties, undoubtedly shows the great warmth and friendship that exist between the two countries.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Singapore Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan, in his remarks, spoke on the warm and long-standing nature of Singapore-Sri Lanka relations. He noted the close and meaningful cooperation between our two countries, including during this COVID-19 period.
The event was attended by the former Sri Lanka High Commissioners who served in Singapore, Chitranganee Wagiswara, Nimal Weerarathna, Ferial Ashraff and Consul of Singapore in Sri Lanka Dr. Jayantha Dharmadasa, Singaporean business community in Sri Lanka, Secretary of the Ministry of Mass Media, Officials of the Foreign Ministry and the Department of Posts.
Meanwhile, in Singapore, a ceremony was held at the Shangri La a few hours prior to the Colombo event where High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to Singapore Sashikala Premawardhane and Non-Resident High Commissioner of Singapore Chandra Das unveiled the two stamps in the presence of Director-General of the South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa Directorate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore Gilbert Oh. Deputy Director of Postal & Consumer Policy, Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore (IMDA) Ruth Wong, and Vice President Philately & Stamps Peggy Teo together with several other officials of MFA, IMDB, SingPost and the High Commission of Sri Lanka.
The Foreign Ministry extends its appreciation and congratulations to the Government of Singapore, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore, Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore, SingPost, and the Department of Post of Sri Lanka and to the High Commission of Sri Lanka in Singapore for the successful issuance of the commemorative stamps marking 50 years of friendship between Sri Lanka and Singapore.”
A Singaporean of Sri Lankan origin
Even if Mahendran attended the event at Shangri La, Singapore, the public shouldn’t be surprised. Whatever, the government spokespersons say, Singaporean Mahendran obviously received assurance that he would enjoy the protection of Singapore, regardless of Sri Lanka’s push to bring the fugitive to justice. Examination of Sri Lanka’s pathetic failure to get hold of Mahendran should be examined against the backdrop of celebration of 50 years of diplomatic ties.
Even if Mahendran attended the event at Shangri La, Singapore, the public shouldn’t be surprised. Whatever, the government spokespersons say, Singaporean Mahendran obviously received assurance that he would enjoy the protection of Singapore, regardless of Sri Lanka’s push to bring the fugitive to justice. Examination of Sri Lanka’s pathetic failure to get hold of Mahendran should be examined against the backdrop of celebration of 50 years of diplomatic ties.Why does Singapore continue to protect Mahendran? Did the incumbent regime here make a genuine effort to get Mahendran back to Colombo? What is the responsibility of Sri Lanka Parliament as regards the failure on the part of the government to convince Singapore to hand over Mahendran? UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, who orchestrated Mahendran’s appointment as the Governor of the CBSL, immediately after the 2015 presidential election, is now back in parliament as the UNP’s solitary National List MP of that party. Have we heard any government lawmaker demanding an explanation from Wickremesinghe over accountability on his part regarding the Treasury bond scams and Mahendran taking refuge in Singapore? The CBSL was under Wickremesinghe at the time Mahendran perpetrated the Treasury bond scams, the court hadn’t been moved against him. The main Opposition Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) is not in a position to attack Wickremesinghe over the Treasury bond scam as it consists of former UNP lawmakers who backed the UNP leader’s stand on bond scams.
The JO/SLPP and the SJB have conveniently forgotten the Treasury bond scams. The then President Sirisena, who paved the way for the much bigger second Treasury bond scam in March 2016 by dissolving Parliament in late June 2015 to save the UNP government reeling under the first scam. By the time, Sirisena received the PCoI report in late Dec 2017 or soon thereafter Mahendran was away. Mahendran couldn’t have left the country without the top UNP leadership’s knowledge. Wickremesinghe knew Mahendran was leaving. In fact, President Sirisena and Wickremesinghe hadn’t been able to agree on many contentious issues, including the Free Trade Agreement with Singapore though the President finally gave in.
The incumbent government owes the country an explanation why Mahendran couldn’t be extradited in spite of making representations to Singapore. In early Dec 2020, the then Attorney General Dappula de Livera submitted a note of clarification to Singapore as regards the request to Mahendran.
The Attorney General tendered the extradition request to the Defence Ministry and the Foreign Affairs Ministry in 2019 for necessary authentication and transmission to the Singaporean government after the Permanent High Court at Bar issued an arrest warrant on Mahendran.
Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs subsequently informed that the Singapore Government would consider the extradition request once the necessary supporting information and documents were received.
In September 2019, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs forwarded the extradition request on Arjuna Mahendran, to the Sri Lankan High Commission in Singapore. The extradition request was then forwarded to the Government of Singapore for necessary action.
However, Singapore has declined to hand over Mahendran. Singapore is believed to have questioned the basis of the ongoing investigation into the Treasury bond scams. Speaker Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena should hold the debate on the much delayed Treasury bond scams in Parliament without further delay. The failure on the part of Parliament to debate the PCoI report on the Treasury bond scams cannot be justified or tolerated under any circumstances. Those political parties represented in Parliament should be ashamed for their failure to debate the report for well over three years.
How can we forget the fact that Wickremesinghe made a desperate bid to extend Mahendran’s term in spite of accusations relating to the 2015 and 2016 Treasury bond scams? Under heavy pressure to replace Mahendran, Wickremesinghe pushed for Charitha Ratwatte’s appointment as Governor.
In spite of issuance of Interpol red notice on Mahendran, in relation to the ongoing investigation into Treasury bond scams, he remains safe in Singapore, the number one destination for Sri Lankan lawmakers and even Presidents to seek medical treatment. President Sirisena was in Singapore when the Easter Sunday suicide bombers mounted near simultaneous attacks in Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa. Sirisena claimed that he was in Singapore for a medical checkup when he received a message from Colombo about the carnage.
Chronology of events
Jan. 8, 2015:
Presidential election
Jan.9, 2015:
Maithripala Sirisena sworn in as President (now SLPP lawmaker, representing Polonnaruwa district)
Jan.9, 2015:
Ranil Wickremesinghe sworn in as Prime Minister (now solitary UNP MP in Parliament)
Jan.23, 2015:
Then Finance Minister Ravi K recommended Arjuna Mahendan as Governor, CBSL (No longer in Parliament)
Jan. 26, 2015:
President Sirisena appointed Singaporean Mahendran as Governor, CBSL (privileged life in Singapore)
Feb. 26, 2015:
Mahendran met ministers, Ravi K, Kabir H (now SJM lawmaker) and UNP Chairman Malik S (not engaged in active politics now) at CBSL, allegedly to discuss a massive fund requirement of Rs 18 bn (All three politicians were present when President Sirisena lambasted the UNP over treasury bond scams on Dec 16, 2018 at the Presidential Secretariat in the presence of PM Wickremesinghe and Mrs. Wickremesinghe.)
Feb 27, 2015:
First bond scam perpetrated. Within hours, those who mattered knew how PTL had carried out the operation in connivance with Mahendran.PTL is a fully owned subsidiary of Perpetual Capital (Pvt.) Limited, owned by Geoffrey Joseph Aloysius and Arjun Joseph Aloysius. The Central Bank was under the purview of Premier Wickremesinghe, though previously it functioned under the Finance Ministry.
President Sirisena directed his party to lodge a complaint with the CIABOC. The high profile institution, handling of that particular inquiry, should be examined for obvious reasons.
March 10, 2015:
Wickremesinghe, following consultations with Sirisena, appointed a three-member committee to probe the issuance of treasury bonds. The committee comprised those considered UNP loyalists i.e. Attorneys-at-law Gamini Pitipana, Mahesh Kalugampitiya and Chandimal Mendis.
May 21, 2015:
The Joint Opposition requested Speaker Chamal R to call a special debate on the bond scam.
May 22, 2015:
Special Sub Committee of CoPE appointed to probe the Feb 27, 2015 issuance of treasury bonds. The 13-member Sub Committee had its inaugural meeting on the same day under the chairmanship of Dew Gunasekera.
May 26, 2015:
Probe commenced with Treasury Secretary Dr. R.H.S. Samaratunga and Director General, Department of Treasury M.S.D. Ranasiri was questioned (Later it was revealed Samaratunga took part in a discussion when Ravi K issued controversial directives to state bank officials pertaining to issuance of treasury bonds).
June 18, 23, 2015:
CoPE questioned Mahendran. The Singaporean was the last to appear before the committee.
June 25, 2015:
Wickremesinghe alleged CoPE denied him an opportunity to appear before the watchdog. (In terms of the Standing Orders, ministers cannot be summoned before COPE.)
June 26, 2015:
Sirisena dissolved Parliament to thwart CoPE presenting its report on Treasury bond scam. General election set for Aug. 17, 2015. The dissolution prevented Dew Gunasekera from presenting his report on the first Treasury bond scam. In a related action, UNP Deputy Justice Minister Sujeewa Senasinghe moved court to bar Gunasekera from releasing his report to the media.
June 28, 2015:
The writer in an exclusive story based on Dew Gunasekera’s suppressed report headlined ‘COPE inquiry finds Mahendran had intervened in bond issue’ in the June 28 edition of The Sunday Island dealt with Mahendran’s clear complicity in the first scam.
July 3, 2015:
Dew Gunasekera declared that Sirisena could take tangible action on what he called ‘dossier of evidence’ produced by his committee. Gunasekera asserted that Sirisena could call for a copy of the 447-page report from the Secretary General of parliament W.B.D. Dissanayake. President Sirisena chose not to do anything.
Aug. 17, 2015:
Parliamentary polls.
Nov. 27, 2016:
COPE reconstituted with JVP MP Sunil Handunetti as its Chairman.
March 29, 2016:
The second far bigger bond scam perpetrated. The Central Bank was still under Premier Wickremesinghe.
June 29, 2016: Sirisena visited the CBSL much to the discomfort of Wickremesinghe and Mahendran. Recently, President Sirisena revealed how Wickremesinghe tried to discourage him from visiting CBSL.
July 2, 2016:
Renowned economist Dr. Indrajith Coomaraswamy succeed Mahendran as Governor of CBSL after Wickremesinghe made an abortive bid, with the support of Karunanayake, to secure Sirisena’s approval for Charitha Ratwatte to be appointed to the post.
January 27, 2017:
Sirisena appoints P-CoI consisting of Supreme Court Judges Kankanithanthri T. Chitrasiri and Prasanna Sujeewa Jayawardena and former Senior Deputy Auditor General Kandasamy Velupillai to probe bond scams.
Aug. 2, 2017:
Karunanayake was humiliated at PCoI over the lease of a fifth-floor super luxury condominium apartment at the Monarch Residencies that was allegedly paid for by Arjun Aloysius.
Aug. 10, 2017:
Foreign Minister Karunanayake resigned in the wake of shocking revelations at the PCoI. Karunanayake received the foreign ministry portfolio on May 25, 2017. Karunanayake switched portfolios with Mangala Samaraweera.
Nov 16, 2017:
Evidence at the Bond Commission revealed how Arjun Aloysius had been in touch with some members of the COPE during its hearings. Aloysius had spoken a total of 227 times to Sujeewa Senasinghe, 18 times to Dayasiri Jayasekara, 176 times to Harshana Rajakaruna and 73 times to Hector Appuhamy during the period commencing January 2015.
Nov 20, 2017:
Wickremesinghe received kid glove treatment at PCoI with AG Jayantha Jayasuriya (now Chief Justice) specially assigned to question him. But Wickremesinghe’s affidavits received by PCoI in response to questions sent to him by it and the AG’s department and PM’s responses to AG Jayasuriya established the UNP’s leader’s complicity and failure to thwart the scams beyond doubt.
Dec 30, 2017:
PCoI report handed over to Sirisena.
Jan. 4, 2018:
Sirisena, in a special statement to the nation regarding the P-CoI report mounted a devastating attack on the UNP over Treasury bond scams in the run-up to the Feb. 10 local government polls.
Feb 04, 2018:
Arjun Aloysius and Chief Executive Officer of PTL Kasun Palisena arrested. Subsequently, they were granted bail.
Feb. 10, 2018:
UNP and SLFP suffered debilitating setbacks at the long delayed local government polls. Their sidekick JVP too suffered heavy defeat.
March 28, 2018:
Sirisena removed the Central Bank and the Securities and Exchange Commission from Wickremesinghe’s purview 1,125 days after the first bond scam and 727 days after the second bond scam.
April 04, 2018:
Wickremesinghe comfortably defeats a No-Confidence Motion (NCM) moved by the Joint Opposition and the SLFP against him by a majority of 46 votes.
