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Public Trustee reappears but undercurrents persist
Public Trustee N.S.A.S. Seneviratne who was missing for sometime following allegations of bribery reappeared and is back in his post after getting bail but undercurrents continue.

CID chief Sisira Mendis said investigations regarding the conduct of the Public Trustee and some 30 other officials linked to the disgraced Pramuka Bank had been completed and a report handed over to the Attorney General.

But Justice Minister W. J. M. Lokubandara said that as far as he was concerned, the Public Trustee was innocent until proven guilty and he could not take disciplinary action.

Mr. Seneviratne and other public officials are alleged to have obtained 'Gold Certificates' or commissions from the Pramuka Bank in exchange for depositing huge amounts of public funds. Mr. Seneviratne is alleged to have received about Rs. 1.9 million in commissions but he has strongly denied the charge.

The Public Trustee appeared in court on Monday following summons issued on him after the Commission Investigating Bribery and Corruption pursued charges against him.

Mr. Seneviratne also has been implicated in an illegal land transaction where he allegedly acted as an intermediary to sell a prime property belonging to a Buddhist Temple in Dehiwela.

A businessman has filed action in the Gamapaha District Court against the former chief priest of the temple, the Public Trustee and a lawyer relative who allegedly did the documentation of the case.

The businessman claims he was sold the land without being told that it belonged to the temple. He said that when he started building a garage on this land, he was nearly attacked by angry villagers.

Meanwhile Justice Minister Lokubandara told The Sunday Times he had asked for a full report on the case. He said that though the allegations appeared to be serious, he could not take action to remove the Public Trustee as the official would have to be presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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