By Maheesha Mudugamuwa
The extradition of former Central Bank Governor Arjun Mahendran, a key suspect in the controversial Treasury Bond Scam, from Singapore has heated the political arena once again, as allegations have been levelled against the present administration over its failure to make any headway.
The Bond Scam and Easter Sunday attacks were the two main allegations levelled against the previous Government and also the two main points used by the present administration as election slogans during both their presidential election and general election campaigning.
The then Opposition, the present administration, was critical about the Bond Scam since it first came to light. Now the present Opposition, the then administration, seems to be highlighting the same issue, as Chief Opposition Whip Lakshman Kiriella last month raised questions over the delay in taking action against the culprits.
He told Parliament that the Government had promised to punish those involved in the Bond Scam but had failed to do so after a year in office, and that it was the same with regard to the Easter Sunday terror attacks.
“The investigation into the Easter Sunday attacks is like a teledrama. One day the former President appears, next the former Prime Ministers, and then the IGP (Inspector General of Police), but no one who carried out the attacks has been punished,” Kiriella said, speaking during the budget debate.
He also stressed that the Government used the Easter attacks to come to power but wasn’t serious about punishing anyone responsible for them.
Tracking the extradition process
Sri Lanka is awaiting the final determination from Singapore on the extradition process initiated against former Central Bank Governor Mahendran, the key suspect of the controversial Treasury Bond Scam, The Sunday Morning learnt.
In the meantime, submitting a document sent by the Attorney General (AG) on the extradition process of Mahendran, Minister of Justice Ali Sabry told Parliament last week that the Singaporean AG has sought clarification from the AG of Sri Lanka as to whether the charges on Mahendran fall within the scope of the extradition treaty between the two countries.
He said that while the extradition process to get Mahendran to Sri Lanka to face charges concerning the Treasury Bond Scam is ongoing, the Sri Lankan AG will continue to make representations to his Singaporean counterpart.
The Minister stressed that the Government would not rest until all parties responsible for this are brought before court.
The document submitted by the Minister, seen by The Sunday Morning, states that the AG’s Chambers of Singapore has not officially refused the extradition request made by the Sri Lankan Government and therefore, the Sri Lankan Government is yet to receive a response from the AG’s Chambers of Singapore.
The requested material was submitted to the AG’s Chambers of Singapore via email on 12 June 2020. At the moment, there is an ongoing dialogue between the AG’s Department of Sri Lanka and the AG’s Chambers of Singapore to explore the possibility of whether the conduct of Mahendran falls within the extraditable offences set out in the first schedule to the Extradition Act of Singapore. In this connection, further material was submitted to the AG’s Chambers of Singapore on 4 December 2020 via email, it is stated.
According to the Minister’s document submitted to Parliament, the extradition request pertaining to Mahendran was submitted to the AG’s Chambers of Singapore on 17 September 2019 through the official diplomatic channel. On 23 September 2019, the AG’s Chambers of Singapore had acknowledged the receipt of papers.
Thereafter, on 27 January 2020, the AG’s Chambers of Singapore had sought clarifications on various issues inter alia pertaining to the involvement of Mahendran, additional funding requirement of the Government, etc. via email. Responses to said clarifications had been dispatched to the AG’s Chambers of Singapore on 16 March 2020.
Again on 27 May 2020, Interpol in Singapore had informed the National Central Bureau for Sri Lanka that Mahendran had changed his name to “Arjahn Alexander” and the Red Notice issued against Arjun Mahendran had been updated accordingly.
Consequent to said name change, on 2 May 2020, the AG’s Chambers of Singapore had informed that no amendment would be required to the extradition request that has already been made and that the Singaporean Government would continue to process the request as it is. On the same day, the AG’s Department of Sri Lanka had received an email from the AG’s Chambers of Singapore whereby further material had been sought from the Government of Sri Lanka to move forward with the extradition request.
Moreover, a criminal case was initiated on 2 February 2018 in the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court against Mahendran, Arjun Aloysius, Perpetual Treasuries Ltd. (PTL), and Kasun Palisena, for numerous offences committed at the auction held on 27 February 2015 and other matters incidental thereto.
Aloysius and Palisena were committed to remand custody from 4 February 2018 till 1 January 2019. The members of the Board of Directors of PTL and the Chairman of the Tender Board of CBSL at the time of the impunge auction were arrested and produced before court on 25 March 2019 and were subsequently enlarged on bail.
Over 60 judicial orders were obtained to facilitate the conduct of further investigations.
An indictment was forwarded before the Permanent High Court at Bar against 10 accused, for several offences inter alia: Conspiracy to commit criminal misappropriation, criminal misappropriation, and criminal breach of trust committed at the auction held on 27 February 2015. Indictment was served on all accused except Mahendran and Ajan Gardiye Punchihewa, as those two suspects had left the country prior to filing the indictment.
Absconding continues
Former Central Bank Governor Mahendran, the first suspect in the magisterial inquiry into the 2015 Treasury Bond Scam, was issued several arrest warrants. However, he is still reported as missing.
In light of this, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has also requested the assistance of Interpol to issue a red notice to locate Mahendran.
The High Court at Bar issued summons on Punchihewa on an application made by the AG to be served on him in Singapore, through the Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) process. However, on 12 October 2020, the AG’s Chambers of Singapore informed in writing that by the time they received the MLA request, the subject had left Singapore for Malaysia. Thus, the AG had proposed to make an application on the next date in terms of the CCPA to the High Court at Bar to proceed with the trial against Punchihewa in his absence.
However, after the indictment was filed against Punchihewa before the Permanent High Court at Bar, he filed a writ application bearing No. CA (WRIT) 311/2019 before the Court of Appeal, challenging the decision to file an indictment against him. Upon considering the submissions made by the Counsel for the petitioner and for the AG, a divisional bench of the Court of Appeal refused to issue notice of the respondent – the AG. However, this matter is now before the Supreme Court in appeal.
Investigation continues
Criminal investigations conducted by the CID, under the case bearing No. B 8266/2018, regarding the offences committed incidental to the auction held on the 27 February 2015 are continuing. The primary focus of the investigation is on tracing the proceeds of the crime with particular emphasis on tracking the final recipients of approximately Rs. 1.2 billion transmitted by PTL to W.M. Mendis & Company, which were thereafter channeled via issues of cheques (50,000) to third parties.
Meanwhile, the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court is conducting proceedings related to the Treasury bond auctions held on 29 March 2016 and 31 March 2016, and proceedings are also going on at the Colombo Magistrate’s Court against former Minister Ravi Karunanayake for committing perjury at the Commission. Furthermore, proceedings are ongoing at the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court against PTL, Aloysius, Palisena, and two other employees of PTL for destruction of evidence.
According to a report by ADB/OECD Anti-Corruption Initiative for Asia-Pacific, the extradition in Sri Lanka is governed by the Extradition Law No. 8 of 1977, as amended by Act 48 of 1999, and the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act No. 25 of 2002 (MACMA). Extradition and MLA may be provided without a treaty to Commonwealth countries that have been designated by order in the gazette.
A treaty is required for all other countries, unless the request relates to an offence of money laundering. In addition to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), Sri Lanka is also party to four bilateral extradition treaties – one with a member of the ADB/OECD Initiative (Hong Kong, China) and two with parties to the OECD Convention (Italy and the US). Sri Lanka also has extradition relations under the London Scheme with eight members of the initiative (Bangladesh, Fiji, India, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Singapore, and Vanuatu). Sri Lanka has a bilateral MLA treaty in force with Hong Kong, China, and Pakistan, all of which are members of the initiative. An additional treaty with Thailand has been signed but is not in force.
The then Opposition, the present administration, was critical about the Bond Scam since it first came to light. Now the present Opposition, the then administration, seems to be highlighting the same issue, as Chief Opposition Whip Lakshman Kiriella last month raised questions over the delay in taking action against the culprits.
He told Parliament that the Government had promised to punish those involved in the Bond Scam but had failed to do so after a year in office, and that it was the same with regard to the Easter Sunday terror attacks.
“The investigation into the Easter Sunday attacks is like a teledrama. One day the former President appears, next the former Prime Ministers, and then the IGP (Inspector General of Police), but no one who carried out the attacks has been punished,” Kiriella said, speaking during the budget debate.
He also stressed that the Government used the Easter attacks to come to power but wasn’t serious about punishing anyone responsible for them.
Tracking the extradition process
Sri Lanka is awaiting the final determination from Singapore on the extradition process initiated against former Central Bank Governor Mahendran, the key suspect of the controversial Treasury Bond Scam, The Sunday Morning learnt.
In the meantime, submitting a document sent by the Attorney General (AG) on the extradition process of Mahendran, Minister of Justice Ali Sabry told Parliament last week that the Singaporean AG has sought clarification from the AG of Sri Lanka as to whether the charges on Mahendran fall within the scope of the extradition treaty between the two countries.
He said that while the extradition process to get Mahendran to Sri Lanka to face charges concerning the Treasury Bond Scam is ongoing, the Sri Lankan AG will continue to make representations to his Singaporean counterpart.
The Minister stressed that the Government would not rest until all parties responsible for this are brought before court.
The document submitted by the Minister, seen by The Sunday Morning, states that the AG’s Chambers of Singapore has not officially refused the extradition request made by the Sri Lankan Government and therefore, the Sri Lankan Government is yet to receive a response from the AG’s Chambers of Singapore.
The requested material was submitted to the AG’s Chambers of Singapore via email on 12 June 2020. At the moment, there is an ongoing dialogue between the AG’s Department of Sri Lanka and the AG’s Chambers of Singapore to explore the possibility of whether the conduct of Mahendran falls within the extraditable offences set out in the first schedule to the Extradition Act of Singapore. In this connection, further material was submitted to the AG’s Chambers of Singapore on 4 December 2020 via email, it is stated.
According to the Minister’s document submitted to Parliament, the extradition request pertaining to Mahendran was submitted to the AG’s Chambers of Singapore on 17 September 2019 through the official diplomatic channel. On 23 September 2019, the AG’s Chambers of Singapore had acknowledged the receipt of papers.
Thereafter, on 27 January 2020, the AG’s Chambers of Singapore had sought clarifications on various issues inter alia pertaining to the involvement of Mahendran, additional funding requirement of the Government, etc. via email. Responses to said clarifications had been dispatched to the AG’s Chambers of Singapore on 16 March 2020.
Again on 27 May 2020, Interpol in Singapore had informed the National Central Bureau for Sri Lanka that Mahendran had changed his name to “Arjahn Alexander” and the Red Notice issued against Arjun Mahendran had been updated accordingly.
Consequent to said name change, on 2 May 2020, the AG’s Chambers of Singapore had informed that no amendment would be required to the extradition request that has already been made and that the Singaporean Government would continue to process the request as it is. On the same day, the AG’s Department of Sri Lanka had received an email from the AG’s Chambers of Singapore whereby further material had been sought from the Government of Sri Lanka to move forward with the extradition request.
Moreover, a criminal case was initiated on 2 February 2018 in the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court against Mahendran, Arjun Aloysius, Perpetual Treasuries Ltd. (PTL), and Kasun Palisena, for numerous offences committed at the auction held on 27 February 2015 and other matters incidental thereto.
Aloysius and Palisena were committed to remand custody from 4 February 2018 till 1 January 2019. The members of the Board of Directors of PTL and the Chairman of the Tender Board of CBSL at the time of the impunge auction were arrested and produced before court on 25 March 2019 and were subsequently enlarged on bail.
Over 60 judicial orders were obtained to facilitate the conduct of further investigations.
An indictment was forwarded before the Permanent High Court at Bar against 10 accused, for several offences inter alia: Conspiracy to commit criminal misappropriation, criminal misappropriation, and criminal breach of trust committed at the auction held on 27 February 2015. Indictment was served on all accused except Mahendran and Ajan Gardiye Punchihewa, as those two suspects had left the country prior to filing the indictment.
Absconding continues
Former Central Bank Governor Mahendran, the first suspect in the magisterial inquiry into the 2015 Treasury Bond Scam, was issued several arrest warrants. However, he is still reported as missing.
In light of this, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has also requested the assistance of Interpol to issue a red notice to locate Mahendran.
The High Court at Bar issued summons on Punchihewa on an application made by the AG to be served on him in Singapore, through the Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) process. However, on 12 October 2020, the AG’s Chambers of Singapore informed in writing that by the time they received the MLA request, the subject had left Singapore for Malaysia. Thus, the AG had proposed to make an application on the next date in terms of the CCPA to the High Court at Bar to proceed with the trial against Punchihewa in his absence.
However, after the indictment was filed against Punchihewa before the Permanent High Court at Bar, he filed a writ application bearing No. CA (WRIT) 311/2019 before the Court of Appeal, challenging the decision to file an indictment against him. Upon considering the submissions made by the Counsel for the petitioner and for the AG, a divisional bench of the Court of Appeal refused to issue notice of the respondent – the AG. However, this matter is now before the Supreme Court in appeal.
Investigation continues
Criminal investigations conducted by the CID, under the case bearing No. B 8266/2018, regarding the offences committed incidental to the auction held on the 27 February 2015 are continuing. The primary focus of the investigation is on tracing the proceeds of the crime with particular emphasis on tracking the final recipients of approximately Rs. 1.2 billion transmitted by PTL to W.M. Mendis & Company, which were thereafter channeled via issues of cheques (50,000) to third parties.
Meanwhile, the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court is conducting proceedings related to the Treasury bond auctions held on 29 March 2016 and 31 March 2016, and proceedings are also going on at the Colombo Magistrate’s Court against former Minister Ravi Karunanayake for committing perjury at the Commission. Furthermore, proceedings are ongoing at the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court against PTL, Aloysius, Palisena, and two other employees of PTL for destruction of evidence.
According to a report by ADB/OECD Anti-Corruption Initiative for Asia-Pacific, the extradition in Sri Lanka is governed by the Extradition Law No. 8 of 1977, as amended by Act 48 of 1999, and the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act No. 25 of 2002 (MACMA). Extradition and MLA may be provided without a treaty to Commonwealth countries that have been designated by order in the gazette.
A treaty is required for all other countries, unless the request relates to an offence of money laundering. In addition to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), Sri Lanka is also party to four bilateral extradition treaties – one with a member of the ADB/OECD Initiative (Hong Kong, China) and two with parties to the OECD Convention (Italy and the US). Sri Lanka also has extradition relations under the London Scheme with eight members of the initiative (Bangladesh, Fiji, India, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Singapore, and Vanuatu). Sri Lanka has a bilateral MLA treaty in force with Hong Kong, China, and Pakistan, all of which are members of the initiative. An additional treaty with Thailand has been signed but is not in force.