‘Govt. should prioritise payments to depositers of collapsed ETI’

By Sandun A Jayasekera

A large number of commercial establishments remained under the controversial finance company, Edirisinghe Trust Investment (ETI), that had committed serious financial misappropriations before its collapse and as such the immediate priority of the government is to repay the dues of depositors as soon as possible, Cabinet Spokesman and Mass Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said yesterday.   

Minister Rambukwella told the weekly Cabinet news briefing yesterday that the Cabinet discussed the sad plight of ETI depositors after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa presented a Cabinet memo to take action against the ETI, based on the recommendations of the Presidential Commission that probed the irregularities of the finance company.   

Accordingly, the report of the Presidential Commission will be forwarded to the Attorney General to take immediate legal action to execute the recommendations of the aforesaid commission report on alleged finance and property irregularities of the ETI.   

 The Finance Ministry will be informed to completely reform The Non-Bank Financial Institutions Supervision Department of Central Bank of Sri Lanka and to formulate a new institutional structure to regulate the Finance Companies.   

The report will be presented in Parliament by Justice Minister with the objective of introducing legal measures against errant finance companies, Minister Rambukwella said.   

President Rajapaksa appointed a Presidential Commission on 09.01.2020 to investigate, inspect and report the alleged wrongdoings, irregularities and malpractices of the ETI, chaired by retired Supreme Court Judge K.T.Chithrasiri.   

Pics by Kithsiri De Mel.   

The report  containing observations and recommendations of the commission was submitted to the President on 06.10.2020.   

The aforesaid commission had pointed out that there had been several offences committed under the Company Law, The Financial Cooperation Act, The Money Laundering Act, The Financial Information Reporting Act, The Legal Framework for the transfer of lands to foreigners as well as the Penal Code by its observations and recommendations.   

“Moreover, the report of the Presidential Commission has pointed out the need to reform the Non-Banking Financial Institutions by Supervision Department of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka that supervises and regulates Finance Companies. Approval by the Cabinet  Ministers has been granted for the proposal submitted by His Excellency the President while drawing the attention of the Cabinet of Ministers to the aforementioned  issues,” Minister Rambukwella emphasized.