President regrets Singapore’s silence on Mahendran issue

President Maithripala Sirisena today said that he regrets the failure by the Singapore Government to make a formal statement on the issue surrounding Sri Lanka seeking the arrest of former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran.

The President?revealed that during his last visit to Singapore he had sought the arrest of former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran over the Central Bank treasury bond scam.

Mahendran is in Singapore and an Interpol Red Notice has been issued for his arrest.

Speaking at an event to mark the launch of a five-year National Action Plan for Combating Bribery and Corruption in Sri Lanka, the President said that while investigations into the Central Bank treasury bond scam were progressing, the main suspect was not yet arrested.

“When I went to Singapore I asked Singapore about its policy on handing over the main suspect in the treasury bond scam to us. I spoke to the Singapore Prime Minister on this personally. The Singapore Prime Minister said that his country had no issue in supporting such an investigation,” the President said.

However the President said that he regrets the fact that the Singapore Government has not yet made a formal statement on this issue so far.

“That is the reality of the situation now,” the President said.

The international police known as Interpol had informed Sri Lanka last year that former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran is in Singapore.

The Attorney General?s Department informed the Colombo Fort Magistrate?s Court last May that Interpol had communicated the information to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID). (Colombo Gazette)