Another extension for Bond Commission
View(s):Sri Lanka’s Treasury Bond Commission which was widely expected to complete its work by the deadline, December 8 (Friday) and submit a report, got another extension.
Appointed by President Maithripala Sirisena, the Commission which has triggered unprecedented coverage and public attention over the alleged misdeeds of the former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran and his son-in-law Arjun Aloysius, now has time till December 31, 2017 to complete its task.
On Thursday, President Sirisena endorsed an extension of 23 days for the Commission in a gazette that was issued to make this legally possible.
The 3-member Commission was appointed by the President in January 2017 with a 3-month tenure to probe, examine and report on allegedly tainted bond issues and trading during February 2015 to March 2016. Several witnesses have given evidence before the Commission including Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Ministers Kabir Hassim and Malik Samarawickrema and former Minister Ravi Karunanayake.
The latest extension is the fourth given to the body since its appointment. Last week, the PM said the Government is also planning to probe multiple bond issues during the tenure of the former regime.