Ravi writes to Anura to seek international assistance for NDB fraud investigations

Member of Parliament and former Minister of Finance, Mr. Ravi Karunanayake, has sent a special letter to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, requesting an international-level independent forensic audit to investigate financial frauds that have occurred at NDB Bank, delays in settling foreign loans, and supervisory weaknesses in the financial system.

In the letter, he points out that the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, as the main regulator, has failed to control these serious financial irregularities reported concerning the National Development Bank (NDB) and to properly implement the relevant policy regulations and risk monitoring systems. He further emphasizes that due to these fraudulent transactions, the government has lost a significant amount of tax revenue, and that the government should take steps to promptly calculate and recover that financial loss.

The MP, critically commenting on the Central Bank's current decision to select an institution to conduct these investigations, points out the need to appoint an internationally recognized independent forensic audit team free from any personal interest or bias. The letter also states that the government's attention should be focused on obtaining the cooperation and intervention of international organizations to ensure the accuracy of this investigation process.

Mr. Ravi Karunanayake states that the International Monetary Fund should be officially informed about the future steps taken by the government to strengthen governance in the country's financial sector, and has also stated that he is ready to provide the full cooperation of the Committee on Public Finance to ensure the success of this entire process.

Considering this issue as an extremely urgent matter of national importance, the former minister states that transparent decision-making is essential to preserve public trust in the banking system and the country's financial stability. He states that he can contribute to identifying and recommending suitable independent professional institutions for this purpose, and has expressed his confidence that the President will give utmost priority to this matter.