Prime Minister Ranil Wirckremesinghe has agreed not to re-appoint Arjuna Mahendran as Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka until the investigations into him are concluded, Convener of the Puravasisi Balaya Movement Saman Ratnapriya says.
He said that this was discussed during a meeting held with the Prime Minister. The main focus of the meeting was the recent hike on the Value Added Tax and the issue surrounding the Governor of the Central Bank, according to Ratnapriya.
Two investigations are being carried out against the CB Governor, one is being conducted by COPE, he added.
Mahendran has been in the spotlight recently due to the controversy surrounding a Treasury bond issue by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL). There had been rising concerns in bond markets over controversial deals made by Perpetual Treasuries, a firm connected to Arjun Aloysius, the son-in-law of Governor Arjuna Mahendran.
In March 2015, the President appointed a three-member committee to investigate alleged irregularities surrounding the bond issue as well.
