Arjuna Mahendran is an adviser to FinMin now - ACF

Former Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka Arjuna Mahendran is currently acting as an advisor to the Finance Ministry, the Anti-Corruption Front (ACF) alleged on Monday.  

The ACF has also written to President Maithripala Sirisena demanding him to prevent controversial former governor Mahendran from attending meetings at the Ministry of Finance, the ACF said in a statement. 

Full letter: “We are extremely grateful of your decision to appoint a ‘Special Presidential Commission of Inquiry this week to investigate the Central Bank bond issue and recommend actions.’ However former Governor of the Central Bank, Arjuna Mahendran, who faces serious allegations regarding the controversial Treasury bond scam, currently acts as an advisor to the Ministry of Finance on the Central Bank.

Mahendran is a regular attendee of the meeting the Finance Minister holds every Tuesday and Thursday with Governor of the Central Bank Indrajit Coomaraswamy, Dr. R H S Samaratunga, Secretary to the Treasury, and R. Paskaralingam, Advisor to the Ministry of National Policies and Economic Affairs. When Coomaraswamy was appointed Governor of the Central Bank this meeting was held each Monday and Thursday at 5 pm on July, August and September. The dates later changed to Tuesday and Thursday and the last meeting was held on January 6, 2017 at 11 am.

During that meeting, Mahendran advised Coomaraswamy on the decisions that should be taken by the Monetary Board, which is a violation of the Banking Act. This is a disastrous situation and we believe that you must show your commitment to good governance by action and not by mere words.

Your Excellency, if Mahendran is still in a position to advise and influence the Monetary Board, the people of Sri Lanka will surely think that the Special Presidential Commission of Inquiry which you will appoint will be another ploy to buy time. Thus we sincerely believe that you would immediately prevent Mahendran from communicating with the Treasury as a coordinator to the Ministry of Finance.”