There is a need for the President to appoint a Commission of Inquiry to investigate what went wrong at Ceylinco and take appropriate steps to safeguard the interests of the public and to clean up the private sector.
I feel the Companies Act has to be amended now in the light of the crises at Ceylinco, Golden Key and Sakvthi, and of recent past - Mercantile Credit.
As the government relies very much on the private sector for the economic development of the country, the private sector also must act in a responsible manner. It should not be allowed to run away with public funds given the way the management at Ceylinco gobbled billions of rupees of public funds.
Those who invested a lifetime of savings such as provident fund or sale of property have all lost their money.
This has happened in companies such as Golden Key, F&G, The Finance Co, Asian Finance, Ceylinco Land Exchange and many other companies registered and unregistered with the Central Bank.
Hundreds of unregistered Ceylinco companies have taken deposits of large sums. These depositors have nowhere to turn to now. It is alleged that the directors, big and small, of Ceylinco companies have defrauded their own companies, in the guise of purchasing land and constructing houses, their biggest investments and siphoned off depositors’ funds.
Neither the Central Bank, nor the CID or any other government agency has so far looked into these allegations. This is a blatant violation of law of the land. It cannot be ignored. After all, it is the general public that suffers. It affects government revenue as no tax is paid on this black money.
Yohan Fernando
Colombo |
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