SEC suspends Dinal Wijemanne’s registered stockbroker status amid pending legal action

Capital market regulator, the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), has issued a directive suspending former Taprobane Securities (Pvt.) Ltd CEO Dinal Wijemanne from functioning as a key management person and taking part in any activities involving clients as a registered stockbroker, amid the pending legal proceedings on his alleged involvement in share price manipulation of Ceylon Grain Elevators PLC (GRAN), during the 2010-2011 period. 
The directive is based on the SEC’s findings on the investigation conducted into the trading of shares of GRAN during the period from December 14, 2010 to March 3, 2011, prior to the Employees’ Provident Fund making an investment in GRAN in March 2011.

“… while employed at Taprobane Securities (Pvt.) Ltd and during the aforesaid period in question, the commission issued a directive under section 16 (c) of Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka Act No 19 of 2021 to this individual, suspending him from functioning as a Key Management Personnel or an employee dealing with clients of a Market Intermediary or a Market Institution, as he is disqualified to function as such under Rule 6 (g) of the Schedule II - Fitness and Propriety of a Key Management Person of Market Intermediaries and 
Market Institutions of the SEC Rules published in Gazette Extraordinary No 2271/09 dated March 15, 2022 and Gazette Extraordinary No 2271/10 dated March 15, 2022, respectively, to be read with Rule (5) (a) (ii) of Section 4-Minimum Standards for Trading Participants of the Trading Participant Rules of the Colombo Stock Exchange,” the SEC stated in the directive issued on the 25th of last month.In 2012, the SEC temporarily suspended Wijemanne from functioning as CEO/MD of Taprobane Securities (Pvt.) Ltd, amid pending investigations into his involvement in the controversial The Finance-NSB deal.
Since June 2013, Wijemanne has been operating as an independent consultant for private equity, investments in the Colombo Stock Exchange and investment banking.