COLOMBO, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- A Sri Lankan parliamentary committee, on Friday, has recommended legal action against former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran and officials involved in controversial bond deals.
Sunil Handunetti, Chairman of the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE), presenting the COPE report to Parliament, said evidence brought before the committee had raised reasonable doubt that Mahendran should be held directly responsible over the bond transaction amounting to millions of dollars and that legal action should be taken against him and responsible individuals.
He said Perpetual Treasuries, a firm connected to Mahendran's son-in-law had made enormous profits from the deals.
The committee recommended that action should be taken to examine and recover any losses to the state and central bank.
The Central Bank should also conduct its own probe and come up with procedures to make auctions transparent, the Committee recommended.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said that the government will respect the report and proposed that it be sent to the Attorney General for further action.
The joint opposition, stanch supporters of former President Mahinda Rajapakse, has called for a debate in Parliament on the contents of the report.
Mahendran was appointed as Sri Lanka's Central Bank Governor by President Maithripala Sirisena in January 2015.
The Central Bank announced he would not seek an extension of his term which ended June 30.
