|
|
Sri Lanka Golden Key Credit Card officers remanded
Wednesday, 7 January 2009 - 12:09 AM SL Time
 Share On Facebook
|
|
|
A Sri Lankan court has remanded three persons connected with Golden Key Credit Card Company, a crashed financial firm of the Ceylinco group, a reporter said.
The company is under police criminal investigation department (CID) probe after it failed to repay customers and group chairman Lalith Kotelawala said the firm had been mis-managed.
Magistrate`s court has remanded chief executive Khavan Perera, finance director Saradha Sumanasekara and another Ceylinco employee, Manoj Chaminda.
Eleven others were released on personal bail but asked not to leave the country, including Kotelawala, a reporter said.
Kotelawala has promised to repay depositors and has said he would sell a stake in Seylan Bank, a listed commercial bank in the group, to raise part of the money.
Seylan was put under administration of the state-run Bank of Ceylon and its board of directors replaced by Sri Lanka`s central banks after depositors started to withdraw money.
|
|
|
justman
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 1155
Member Profile
|
 6 Jan 2009 22:29:38 GMT Report for Abuse
|
I am glad that some have been made to account for the mi management and even fraud.LK had done by saying that he is going to repay the depositors.I hope he takes that company to it's basic roots founded by his father.Hope he will not offer high rates of interest he can't honor or impossible.
ceylinco had become too big and perhaps uncontrollable like the jumbo cabinet.Country having a ever decreasing people of intellect,vision and integrity nether Mr Kothalawala nor God himself can survive any business venture in SL unless you are more crooked than the corkscrew and that's the irony. |
kiwikanga
Senior Member
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 2817
Member Profile
|
 6 Jan 2009 22:32:07 GMT Report for Abuse
|
Country having a ever decreasing people of intellect,vision and integrity nether Mr Kothalawala nor God himself can survive any business venture in SL unless you are more crooked than the corkscrew and that's the irony
Ditto that! |
Joy09
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 19
Member Profile
|
 7 Jan 2009 04:10:55 GMT Report for Abuse
|
I give below the BBC version of what happened in courts. Note what Khavan Perera's lawyers have told about Mr. LK's involvement in the misuse NOT SCAM.
http://www.bbcsinhala.com
06 January, 2009 - Published 13:30 GMT
Travel ban on Lalith Kotelawala
The judiciary in Sri Lanka has banned all eleven directors of Golden Key Credit Card Company (GKCCC), including its chairman Deshamanya Lalith Kotelawala, from leaving Sri Lanka.
Each director was ordered to release on bail of 25 million rupees each by Mt. Laviniya magistrate.
Chief Executive Officer of the GKCCC, Karvan Perera and two other directors were remanded in custody until 16 Januray.
The Attorney General, prosecuting, told the court that GKCCC is not been monitored by the Central Bank and apprx. 26 billion rupees deposited in the said company have been misused.
Rs. 26 billion 'misused'
A lawyer representing Mr. Kotelawala argued that his client was not aware of the financial fraud in Golden Key Company.
Rejecting the statement, a lawyer representing GKCCC's CEO Karvan Perera said every financial transaction in the company was made with the knowledge of Mr. Kotelawala.
The lawyer accused Mr. Kotalawala of trying to put the blame on his client in an attempt to clear his name on the financial fraud in the company.
The directors were also ordered not to enter the premises of GKCCC until 16 January.
Sri Lankan media reported that the credit card company is facing a major crisis and having difficulties in paying back its depositors.
Earlier, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka has ordered Bank of Ceylon to take over the troubled Seylan Bank.
A statement issued by the Central Bank said that it has also decided to discontinue the services of the Board of Directors of Seylan Bank.
Seylan Bank PLC has faced difficulties 'with regard to deposit withdrawals and ensuing liquidity problems', the statement said.
Both Seylan Bank and GKCCC are part of Ceylinco Group of Companies, chaired by Lalith Kotelawala. |
NonResident
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 16
Member Profile
|
 7 Jan 2009 06:25:36 GMT Report for Abuse
|
Joy09,
Should'nt it be
Rs 26 Billion was STOLEN from depositors! |
veritas
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 4
Member Profile
|
7 Jan 2009 17:38:23 GMT Report for Abuse
|
Lalith Kotelawala's actions are disgraceful to say the least.How can we believe Kotelawala when he says that he was unaware of the financial transactions of the company? After all he is the chairman of the company and his directions have to be followed by the others.With so many billions of rupees available in Golden Key surely Kotelawala would have used these monies in his other numerous ventures. Are we expected to believe that the chairman Kotelawala did not use these billions in his other ventures? That Kotelawala is up to his neck in syphoning these monies from Golden Key to his other operations is the only reasonable conclusion that could be drawn.
When after the Sakvithi scam and also the global financial downturn people felt insecure and began to withdraw deposits from Golden Key, Lalith Kotelawala was caught with his pants down because he had syphoned large amounts from the company into his other ventures and had a mammoth liquidity problem and was unable to pay the depositors.
To save face he cooked up a 'scam theory' and picked a scapegoat to sacrifice in order to save his own skin.What happened at Golden Key was mismanagement for which Kotelawala is primarily responsible because the other directors cannot go against him and stop him from using the huge funds available at Golden Key in his other businesses.If any director or the CEO went against him, they would have been forced to step down by this petty corporate dictator.
Not even a child will buy Kotelawala's story.He is neck deep in the Golden Key problems and the law should deal with him accordingly and not send his minions to the gallows while the main culprit, namely himself. is allowed to go scot free. |
veritas
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 4
Member Profile
|
7 Jan 2009 17:46:53 GMT Report for Abuse
|
| One can't also rule out the possibility that Kotelawala would have tampered with the data base at Golden Key to fabricate evidence to implicate others in order to save his own skin. |
justman
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 1155
Member Profile
|
8 Jan 2009 01:15:07 GMT Report for Abuse
|
N.R
I don't think 26 billion is stolen but more like miss spent,just as third world govenments have miss spent the people's money.perhaps a small percentage is stolen and up to athorities to investgate. |
NonResident
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 16
Member Profile
|
8 Jan 2009 05:57:45 GMT Report for Abuse
|
Justman,
I dont agree with the mis-spent theory. When any honest man accepts a deposit which he has to pay back on demand (as in this case), that money has to be invested by the person accepting same in an asset which should be available on demand, as it is with this expectation the depositor is placing the deposit. It is simple, if you put money into a bank on overnight deposit and go back the following morning for the money and the bank says, Sorry! can you come back after two weeks - this is cheating! and if the bank never gives you back the money - it is stealing!
Now, on the GK saga, if GK pays back the depositors over time - it is cheating! and if it cannot pay back (Which will be the likely case in this instant) it is pure STEALING!
Now, the former AG who is appearing for LK in the GK case has told they have started paying back depositors, that too people who have put in less than a million rupees.
Now lets have a crack at the numbers
GK owes 26,000,000,000 Rupees,
If they settles 10,000,000 rupees a day, it will take 2,600 days to fully settle the depositors!
That is 10 years (based on business days)! based on them paying out 10 million bucks every day!
This is with zero interest!
In 10 years, the plastic card the depositors are holding too may deface! |
|
Search All News and Discussions