A 3-judge Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Shirani Tilakawardane on Tuesday directed the Attorney General (AG) to facilitate a meeting of all lawyers representing Golden Key (GK) Chairman and Directors, its depositors, the 3-member accountants committee appointed by the court to assess the assets of the company, and Central Bank representatives to formulate a payment plan on September 9.
Golden Key depositors protest |
When the case came up before the Court, all parties involved in the GK case agreed to formulate a proposal at a meeting presided over by the Attorney General. If the directors fail to obey the directive then they will be sentenced to seven years rigorous imprisonment for contempt of court, Justice Thilakawardane said in court.
This came after the Central Bank and the committee informed the Court that they are unable to prepare the payment plan as there isn’t sufficient money available at the moment and they are seeking ways and means to raise funds by selling shares of the company.
Head of the Committee, Lakshman R.Watawala told the Court that GK directors have given an undertaking to bring in Rs.2.5 billion but he is not sure as to whether this amount of money could be raised by them.
The Court directed that immediate action should be taken to commence repayment to depositors on sums below Rs 1 million from the smallest deposit first going upwards on a laid down criteria approved by the Court. For the balance payment a scheme of payment up to Rs 2 million should be submitted within a period of six weeks, the Court said.
Senior State Counsel Janak de Silva agreed to facilitate a meeting on behalf of the Attorney General with interested parties along with the presence of J. P. R. Karunaratne, Central Bank Additional Director of Non-Bank Supervision. |
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