The Supreme Court’s ongoing investigation into Golden Key has now uncovered evidence that Central Bank officials colluded with representatives of Golden Key to enable the company to keep functioning despite legislation that states  that companies are not authorised to take deposits without  a licence from the Central Bank.   

The Finance Companies Act of 1988, states that no deposits can be taken from any company or persons without a licence from the Central Bank.  Golden Key of course took deposits without a licence for decades.

It has long been alleged that Golden Key’s flagrant violation of various pieces of financial legislation could not possibly have gone unnoticed by the Central Bank, and it has now emerged that the Central Bank had commissioned a special investigation into Golden Key in 2006.  

The investigations unit headed by the Central Bank’s Investigation Section Director  N. Gunatilake found, unsurprisingly, that Golden Key was accepting deposits without a licence and compiled a detailed report on Golden Key’s violations of the Finance Companies Act.  

However before the report could be presented to the Monetary Board it is alleged that Lalith Kotelawala paid senior politicians to negotiate with the Central Bank on his behalf.

Sunil Mendis the then Central Bank Governor subsequently announced that the investigation unit’s report into Golden Key was unnecessary and unacceptable and the report was effectively squashed allowing Golden Key to continue functioning.

These details emerged when a file containing the 2006 report was presented by the Central Bank at a Court hearing to Justice Shirani Tilakawardena.    

Attempting to ascertain the identity of the politician who is alleged to have acted on Kotelawala’s behalf The Sunday Leader contacted Wijedasa Rajapakse — who is currently representing Kotelawala in the Golden Key case, the parliamentarian however flatly denied having any dealings with Sunil  Mendis. “My only involvement with Golden Key is this current case,” insisted Rajapakse.  

While the identity of Kotelawala’s political protector remains a mystery Sunil Mendis’ involvement in dismissing the investigation unit report is clear and the former governor now finds himself with a fair amount of explaining to do.