The Central Bank bans six companies that illegally obtained public deposits

The Colombo High Court has confirmed and extended the suspension orders issued by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, which prevented the transfer, sale, or any transaction involving the total assets and properties belonging to six companies and their directors, who were accused of operating financial businesses by illegally accepting public deposits. The Central Bank revealed this by issuing a special announcement regarding these orders, which were issued by the Non-Bank Financial Institutions Supervision Department of the Central Bank under Section 44 of the Finance Business Act No. 42 of 2011.

The institutions subject to these asset suspension orders have been identified as Kasagala Green Plantation (Private) Limited, Ceylon Green Life Plantation (Private) Limited, Singha Capital Investment Limited, Pro Shop Advertising Holdings (Private) Limited, Athens International Education Center (Private) Limited, and Eon Lanka Investment & Film Production International (Private) Limited. With the relevant court decision, the transfer or sale of any movable or immovable property belonging to these companies or their directors to any other party is completely prohibited.

Among the relevant companies, special investigations are already underway regarding Kasagala Green Plantation and Ceylon Green Life Plantation under Section 42 of the Finance Business Act. The Central Bank has revealed that the other four listed companies have violated Section 2 of the said Act by operating financial businesses without a proper license and by accepting deposits from the public.

The Central Bank further urges the public to choose only legally authorized institutions for safely depositing their hard-earned money. The announcement, issued on September 22, 2026, also states that only institutions duly licensed under the Banking Act No. 30 of 1988 or the Finance Business Act No. 42 of 2011, or those specifically exempted by these Acts, possess full legal authority to accept public deposits.