War victory — Give the devil his due

The whole country rejoices the victory over the terrorists led by Velupillai Pirapaharan, and our President Mahinda Rajapakse seems to get all the credit for it, perhaps as the Commander-in-Chief.

Let us go back to the beginning. It was the JVP, which forced the then President Chandrika Kumaratunga to dissolve parliament, assuring her of victory over the UNP led government, making the terrorist issue as the sole slogan. Having defeated the UNP, the JVP joined the UPFA.

At the presidential elections the JVP supported the presidential nominee, Mahinda Rajapakse; and the Mahinda Chinthanaya was the outcome of a joint effort of the JVP and the PA. Here again the defeat of Pirapaharan was the election battle cry, which brought Mahinda Rajapakse to power with a huge majority.

After winning the election, the JVP was given ministerial posts. But Mahinda Rajapakse was jittery as to whether he should go to war. At one time Mahinda Rajapakse is said to have stated at a discussion with JVP Leader Somawansa — as heard over a TV speech made by Somawansa — Eka labben gahanna bari nun, labu deken gahanna — meaning we both get together and fight, and pressurised Mahinda Rajapakse to go ahead.

From there onwards the valiant Army Commander General Sarath Fonseka, took to the field, together with the air force, navy, and the full support of the government.

It would be recalled that when Wimal Weerawansa the then JVP propaganda chief went to the war front and met the soldiers to encourage them, the PA MPs were not happy as they suspected that the JVP will get popular with the army. He was thereafter not allowed to address the soldiers or go to the war front.

Here it should be emphatically stated that this writer is no supporter or sympathiser of the JVP, but it should be recorded that the victory was mainly on the moral support given by the JVP, even after they left the UPFA on the grounds that the Mahinda Rajapakse government was not keeping to the policies laid down in the Mahinda Chinthanaya which was a joint document of the JVP and the PA.

Weera
Homagama

Hope for Golden Key depositors

The report your newspaper carried recently of the sabotaging of an investigation by the Central Bank officials on the Golden Key Company added a new dimension to, and possibly a pointer to an easy resolution of a major problem. The depositors are eternally grateful to The Sunday Leader for the exposure and the helpful lead. Your news story puts the Central Bank squarely in the dock.

The erroneous reference to Sunil Mendis as the governor responsible for the scam was no doubt an unfortunate lapse. Mendis was understandably deeply saddened by the misreporting. But being the honourable gentleman that he is, did not let that misreporting divert attention from the main issue.

While issuing an emotionally charged contradiction, he vouched for the accuracy of the main thrust of the story, namely that an investigation had in fact been instituted and was continuing up to the time that he left.

It therefore followed that aborting the investigation was the work of his successor. The ominous silence of the incumbent Governor, is in contrast to the instantaneous reaction of Mendis giving credence to the allegation that the Central Bank did in fact put the lid on the inquiry. The Central Bank did not rise to the defence of itself or the incumbent Governor!

That the activities of the Golden Key were under investigation by the Central Bank has been further proven by Deshamanya (is he still one?) Lalith Kotelawala himself in a letter addressed to card holders on December 3, 2008. It stated that “We were in fact ‘examined’ in 2005/2006 and the examination was terminated as our deposit taking was restricted to security deposits for the issue of credit cards.... We trust that this clarifies any concerns that you may have regarding the ‘legitimacy’ and stability of our operations.”

It was a blatant attempt to mislead the public to believe that the activities of Golden Key fell outside the provisions of the Finance Companies Act and hence was not a matter for the Central Bank.

The Finance Companies Act, No. 78 of 1988 leaves no room for such an interpretation. It says, “Subject to the provisions of Section 3, no finance business shall be carried on except by a public company unless it (a) is registered under a public company and registered under the provisions of this Act.” ‘Finance business’ is defined as the business of acceptance of money by way of deposit, the payment of interest thereon and (a) the lending of money on interest (1) Subject to the provisions of Section 3, no finance business shall be carried on except by a public company (a) is registered under the Companies Act, No. 17 of 1982 …. and is registered under the provisions of this Act.... ‘Finance business’ has been defined as the business of acceptance of money by way of deposit, the payment of interest thereon and

(a) the lending of money on interest; or

(b) the investment of money in any manner whatsoever or,

(c) the lending of money on interest and the investment of money in any manner whatsoever;

The play of words between ‘rebate’ and ‘interest’ is a naive attempt. The Central Bank officials who conducted the investigation would not have been duped by this sophistry. Surely the framers of the law when trying to regulate the working of legitimately established finance companies would not have left room for fake companies which avoid registration to operate without any regulation.

It is therefore crystal clear that if only action was taken in 2006/2007 on the findings of the investigation, the disaster caused to the depositors could have been averted and the Golden Key Company would have survived as a company of integrity operating under the supervision of the Central Bank.

If the Central Bank made known the unlawful nature of the business, the depositors would have withdrawn their moneys and prospective depositors would have refrained from making any deposits. By the dereliction of its legal duty, the Central Bank now stands indicted for colluding with Golden Key to fleece the depositors.

The Central Bank/Monetary Board should take full responsibility for all the catastrophic consequences that followed. Be that as it may, the depositors have a case for suing the Central Bank/Monetary Board to recover the losses. The loss of money of the depositors is a direct consequence of the cover up of the illegal operation of Golden Key by the Central Bank. It will be easier to make recoveries from the Central Bank than from Golden Key Company.

Thank you Madam Editor for the exposure and blazing the trail for a new course of legal action for the unfortunate depositors to claim their moneys.

K.S. Perera
Piliyandala

Central Bank Governor must be sent home in disgrace

Thank you The Sunday Leader for exposing the truth. Now, the many thousands of depositors of the Ceylinco Group of finance companies will realise the truth about their lost monies. It is not difficult to imagine the financial atrocities committed on both the public and the state by the dishonest man in disguise at the helm of the Central Bank.

For justice to prevail in this land he must be sacked and made to stand trial for his financial misdeeds. Being a non-technical man, it is a mystery how he fooled the highest echelons to appoint him as chief of the Central Bank, to enable him to cover his financial crimes.

A crook must be treated as one. Let us then hope that this exposed  ‘Goldfinger’ will be taken to task for his misdeeds, which have caused many to suffer financially without their legitimate dues on the money they entrusted to registered financial companies recommended by the Central Bank.

Duped Depositor
Nawala