SIU closure unconnected

The Central Bank said last week that there was no connection to the scrapping of the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) and the Central Bank Governor, accused of links to the controversial GoldQuest scam.

Assistant Governor of the Central Bank, Y.M.W.B. Weerasekera, was responding to questions at a press conference on whether the SIU was closed because it was probing GoldQuest scam.

While saying that it was not fair to question him regarding this matter, he noted that even though the SIU was shut as its three police officers were recalled by the IGP, the unit’s investigations are now handled by the Central Bank.

At the briefing, the Bank said Sri Lanka’s economy grew by 8 percent in the first half of 2006 against 5.3 percent in the same period of 2005.

It grew at a rate of 7.6 percent in second quarter 2006 compared with 6.3 percent in the same 2005 quarter.