Doubts about Touchwood links in Sri Lanka, Thailand
Disillusioned Touchwood depositors, at what was probably the first depositors’ meeting on Wednesday, says there is no clear connection with Touchwood Investment PLC (TWI) and its Thailand-based companies, according to participants.
“There were nine depositors who participated and four depositors based out of Colombo were excused. We will meet again tomorrow (Monday) at Deans Road, Colombo 10 at 2.30 pm,” one depositor told the Business Times. He said that as the discussions progressed, the depositors had established that there’s no clear connections between Touchwood Investment PLC and its related companies incorporated in Thailand whose assets the founder husband and wife duo Roscoe and Swarna Maloney had promised to liquidate and pay off some the depositors. “When there’s no ‘clear’ connection how can they sell off assets in firms that aren’t incorporated in this country and claim to settle their dues?”
TWI says they own land in Thailand including the Agarwood plantations, but this depositor, armed with facts, disputed it. “The land has to be 60 per cent Thai owned according to the laws in Thailand. If they own land in Thailand it has to be with a Thai person or a Thai company, which isn’t indicated anywhere,” he explained.
The depositors had identified persons for responsibilities in the association. “We identified five persons as initial conveners of the group. Dhammika Wijesiriwardana, Jeyabalan Rajasingham, A.M. Ismail, S. Marker and Sheran Jayawardena,” another depositor said. They also plan to write to all identified 251 depositors and invite them to join tomorrow’s meeting.
Only few people have deeds and especially those who invested in Agarwood have no deeds, he said.
“There is a very clear connection and deals (albeit not confirmed legally) with those who resigned from Touchwood as Directors some time and present Directors,” according to the first depositor who said that some certificates were issued from TWI Hong Kong office, but its not functioning anymore.
Some cheques were not honored and the depositors plan to share information with TWI Owners Association mainly from other countries and stay connected with them. “There were some people who invested money as loans,” the first depositor said, adding that there is a Corporate Guarantee from Touchwood PLC to those who invested in Touchwood Ltd.
Attorney-at-Law Lakshan Dias will be the moderator of a Google group, which he plans to set up and facilitate. Mr. Dias said he will represent few of his clients’ interest in this case. The Maloney’s sold the company to a group of investors led by present chairman Lanka Kiwulgedara whose efforts to revive the company have so far not succeeded. Swarna Maloney had been in contact with one depositor in a Skype-call from a South-East Asian country but with minting concerns and their efforts to abscond the authorities. She has now stopped calling. Sri Lankan authorities are yet to contact Interpol to issue an arrest warrant for the Maloney couple like in the case of Sicille Kotelawala in the Golden Key fraud case.
Meanwhile in the winding up petition against Touchwood before the Colombo High Court on Thursday, a decision will be made in the first week of May, according to a court order.