Central bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran said he's going on leave while a committee investigates allegations that one of his family members benefited unduly from a sale of treasury bonds last month.
Mahendran said by phone Monday he will hand over operations to P Samarasiri, a deputy governor, during the probe. He'll be in Sri Lanka and will assist with the investigation, he said.
"I am very clear in my mind that I have not done anything wrong," Mahendran said.
Mahendran took charge of the central bank following President Maithripala Sirisena's election win in January. The allegations risk damaging the reputation of Sirisena, who had accused predecessor Mahinda Rajapaksa of enriching family members during his decade-long rule.
Opposition lawmakers said the bonds were issued at an above-market interest rate and mostly sold to Mahendran's son- in-law.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will address parliament on Tuesday after appointing a three-member committee to conduct the probe, media secretary Saman Athaudahetti said by phone.
The central bank said on Feb. 27 that it sold 10 billion rupees ($75 million) of 30-year bonds at a coupon rate of 12.5 percent, after saying it would offer 1 billion rupees of debt. Mahendran said the government was trying to sell bonds through public auctions rather than private placements.
The "urgent attention of the government has been drawn in to the different opinions expressed" on the Feb. 27 bond sale, the presidential secretariat website said on March 11.
"The Government will take the necessary future action after observing the findings of the committee," it said.(Bloomberg)
www.dailymirror.lk
Mahendran said by phone Monday he will hand over operations to P Samarasiri, a deputy governor, during the probe. He'll be in Sri Lanka and will assist with the investigation, he said.
"I am very clear in my mind that I have not done anything wrong," Mahendran said.
Mahendran took charge of the central bank following President Maithripala Sirisena's election win in January. The allegations risk damaging the reputation of Sirisena, who had accused predecessor Mahinda Rajapaksa of enriching family members during his decade-long rule.
Opposition lawmakers said the bonds were issued at an above-market interest rate and mostly sold to Mahendran's son- in-law.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will address parliament on Tuesday after appointing a three-member committee to conduct the probe, media secretary Saman Athaudahetti said by phone.
The central bank said on Feb. 27 that it sold 10 billion rupees ($75 million) of 30-year bonds at a coupon rate of 12.5 percent, after saying it would offer 1 billion rupees of debt. Mahendran said the government was trying to sell bonds through public auctions rather than private placements.
The "urgent attention of the government has been drawn in to the different opinions expressed" on the Feb. 27 bond sale, the presidential secretariat website said on March 11.
"The Government will take the necessary future action after observing the findings of the committee," it said.(Bloomberg)
www.dailymirror.lk
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