Ceylinco chief ready to pay Rs.14.5 billion
Ceylinco Chief Lalith Kotelawala has informed the Attorney General’s Department that he was ready to credit Rs. 14.5 billion to the proposed Trust set up under the AG’s Department to refund the depositors of the ill-fated Golden Key Credit Card Company. But no final decision had been reached.
More in: The Island/ 27 March www.island.lk
Ex- magistrate jailed for 45 years
Former Galle Magistrate and Additional District Judge Shyamini Mirinchi Aaratchchi was sentenced to a total of 45 years jail and fined Rs.60,000 by the Matara High Court on three counts of committing fraud by changing documents relating to court fines on or around March 8, 2000.
Judge P. Padman Surasena also ruled that the sentence would be extended by a further 28 months in default of the payment of fine and that jail terms to run consecutively.
The sentences and fines were imposed on three counts: for making false entries in the fine acknowledgment receipts; for cash fraud, and for accepting money.
More in: The Island/ 28 March www.island.lk ; Daily Mirror/ 28 March www.dailymirror.lk Lankadeepa/ 28 March www.lankadeepa.lk, Divaina/28 March www. divaina.lk
Bakers selling underweight bread arrested
Twenty-six bakery owners who allegedly sold underweight bread were arrested by the Galle branch of the price control Measure and Weight Unit. The suspects were from Galle and they are to be produced courts, police said. More in: Daily Mirror/ 28 March www.dailymirror.lk
SC locks Golden key assets
Golden Key Credit Card Company Chairman Lalith Kotelawela and the directors of the were issued an interim order preventing them from making any decision regarding the assets of the company without prior court approval.
More in: The Bottom Line/ 1 April www.thebottomline.lk
GK Directors slammed over company functions
Nine employees of the Golden Key Credit Card Company filed action before the Commercial High Court, seeking a declaration to the company directors stating that they are legally bound to operate the functions of the company.
More in: The Bottom Line/ 1 April www.thebottomline.lk
Mavil Aru funds not paid
Money allocated to compensate the farmers of Mavil Aru to encourage them to cultivate had been defrauded by a batch of public officials. Five key offcials including the former Chairperson of Farmer’s Insurance Board have been prosecuted by Criminal Investigation Department.
More in: Divaina/ 1 April www.divaina.lk
Acting is over
A person who had fraudulently taken money from some job seekers promising to send them to foreign countries for employment was arrested by the Piliyandala police. The fraudster had been acting as a secretary of a well-known politician and had defrauded Rs. 7 million.
More in: Divaina/ 1 April www.divaina.lk
A lawyer netted
A lawyer attached to the Human Rights Commission was sentenced to four years imprisonment and fined Rs.10, 000 by the Colombo Magistrate for soliciting a bribe of Rs. 25,000 from a female promising to get her child entered into Vishaka Vidyalaya, Colombo. The officer had solicited a bribe when the female came to the Commission to make a complaint against the Principal for unfairly rejecting her application.
More in: Divaina/ 1 April www.divaina.lk
Frauds in Anuradhapura Zonal Education Office
According to the employees of the Zonal Education Office in Anuradhapura, the director does not have the necessary qualifications to hold that position and is corrupt. They allege that he has been involved with shady deals with outsiders and quotes the instance of defrauding Rs.30, 000 in buying a computer to the office.
More in: Lakbima/ 1 April www.lakbima.lk
Doctors claim false OT, says Minister
Health Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said that 49 doctors serving at the Eye Hospital had claimed overtime quoting the names of patients who had already been discharged or had died several months earlier.
Addressing a review meeting held at the Health Ministry he said that the doctors had claimed that they had operated or treated these patients during the course of the month and claimed OT for their work. He said that the matter would be investigated and disciplinary action taken against them.
More in: The Island/ 3 April www.island.lk
Commission to probe charge of obstruction
Colombo Chief Magistrate ordered the Bribery Commission to investigate an alleged charge of obstructing the bill board of the complainant by the Chairman of Katunayaka Seeduwa Urban Council and to report to court to take appropriate action.
More in: Daily Mirror/ 3 April www.dailymirror.lk
Govt. MP evades arrest
Attangalla Magistrate issued a warrant for the arrest of Gampaha District MP Sarana Gunawardena over the alleged abduction of a 12-year old boy.
More in: Sunday Times/ 5 April www.sundaytimes.lk
Where Lalith Kotelawela should be
Chief Justice Sarath N Silva had said that Lalith Kotelawela should be in jail instead of resting on a hospital bed. He said so when the fundamental rights petitions filed by 23 depositors of the Golden Key Credit Card Company came up for hearing in the Supreme Court. “I can nominate where Kotelawela should stay,” he said.
More in: Sunday Times/5 April www.sundaytimes.lk
Legal action against another Ceylinco company
The Attorney General’s Department is planning legal action against F & G Company, another company in the Ceylinco Group, for criminal breach of trust and financial misappropriation.
More in: Sunday Times 5 April www.sundaytimes.lk
Ceylinco Chief’s overseas companies
Details of 33 overseas companies of Ceylinco Chief Lalith Kotelawela have been revealed. Out of them, 16 are operating in Australia, three in Singapore, two in Malaysia, two in UK, two in India, two in Dubai and one each in Canada, Mauritius and Thailand.
More in: Sunday Financial Times/5 April www.sundaytimes.lk
SC orders list of assets
The Supreme Court has directed the Attorney General to obtain a comprehensive kist of assets of Golden Key Company and its subsidiaries as well as the assets of Ceylinco Chief Lalith Kotelawela to be sold to refund the money of depositors.
More in: Sunday Financial Times/ 5 April www.sundaytimes.lk
Yet another Ceylinco company
Members of a Ceylinco subsidiary have floated a new company named Ceylanka Publications.
There is already another publishging company – Independent Financial News & Views (Pvt) Ltd, – founded by Lalith Kotelawala which publishes three magazines namely Aratuwa, Akura and Sports Today.
More in: The Sunday Leader/5 April www.thesundayleader.lk