- PCoI warns Kumara to reveal the truth
- Details of his personal wealth placed before Commission
By Shehan Chamika Silva
Presidential Commission of Inquiry today suddenly called Senior Assistant Director of CBSL Saman Kumara before the Commission as a witness while he was recording statements with the CID and the PCoI strictly warned him to reveal the truth avoiding any contradictions.
Mr. Kumara was summoned to the Commission Soon after the cross-examination of Pan Asia DGM was adjourned.
Mr. Kumara was the dealer for the EPF in secondary market transactions with PTL, where Pan Asia Bank (PABC) had acted as an intermediary for both due to regulatory counter party restrictions, according to evidence of PABC DGM.
Additional Solicitor General, Dappulada Livera initially began examining witness, Saman Kumara regarding his assets, income and other possessions before the Commission.
While Saman Kumara was testifying, the Commission was continuously reprimanding him to tell the truth because his testimony seemed contradictory in many instances regarding the revelation on his assets.
Consequent to the series of questioning put forward by the Commission and the ASG, the witness revealed about possessions attached to him directly and under the names of his wife and his mistress.
It was revealed that there were three personal vehicles, a filling station including two fuel bowsers, which were operated through the company called ‘Ocmart’, a Gem Exporting business, a company named ‘Country Kitchen’, a factory named Eco Tex, and few properties including fixed deposits in the possession of the witness.
It was also revealed that he was maintaining 19 bank accounts in 9 banks.
And his monthly wage at CBSL was Rs. 208,000, revealed during the examination.
The ASG said that the witness is seemed a downright liar as his answers to the commission were incompatible.
However, after obtaining permission from the commission, the witness made an explanation regarding the subjected issue.
The witness was of the view that there is a conspiracy going on against him at Central Bank in a malicious manner accusing him for the incident.
He said he was a worker for the CBSL having an intention of creating better market transactions.
“I was in favor of ‘Auction only system’ in Treasury Bond transactions, and I liked former Governor Arjun Mahendran coming in because he was a good worker in fund management field in Singapore, and he was also in favor of having a auction only system”, he said
When questioned by the ASG it was revealed that the witness and two other CBSL officials had met a relevant Minister immediately after the Bond auction held on February 27, 2015 on the instructions of the former Governor to provide information to the minister regarding the recent bond auction.
Considering the statement of the witness, the Commission advised him not to fear for anything and expose everything that he knows about the incident and the people who instructed him.
‘We want to reveal the truth, so we expect you would support us by revealing everything you know’, SC Justice Prasanna Jayawardena said.
The Commission also directed him to hand over his passport and previous mobile devise to the prosecution to examine further into the witness.
No comments:
Post a Comment