The Cabinet has approved the formation of a committee to suggest ways to settle payments to depositors of the East Hewagama Korale Multipurpose Cooperative Society Ltd (MPCS).
The depositors lost their savings when the MPCS’s former board of directors used the funds to buy “Treasury bills” through a company named Entrust Limited which was not registered with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) and which issued fake certificates to the investors.
Since 2015, Rs 507.59mn was invested on five occasions by the MPCS board, purportedly on Treasury bills “through a certain institution” introduced as a primary buying company registered with the CBSL, the summary Cabinet decision states. It does not name the institution.
“However, the said institution is not a primary buyer company approved by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and the depositors have been subjected to a severe injustice due to the inability to recover the relevant money up to date,” it states.
The proposed committee is tasked with identifying the parties responsible for the “incident” and recommending actions to bring justice to the depositors. The money was never returned.
(LIN)