Pradeepa Gamini Suraj Kariyawasam is a Sri Lankan businessman. Former Chairman of the Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation and the National Savings Bank of Sri Lanka he is the husband of Shirani Bandaranayake, 43rd Chief Justice of Sri Lanka. He was arrested and charged with bribery in 2013.
Educated at the Royal College, Colombo, he was the vice-captain of his college cricket team and played in the Royal-Thomian. [1]
A specialist in marketing, Kariyawasam is a management consultant. Prior to his appointment as Chairman of the National Savings Bank he had served as a manager at Unimo Enterprise, United Motors Lanka (Ltd), Browns Group of Companies and Ceylinco Ltd. [2] [3]
In June 2009 the Supreme Court issued as order to the Treasury Secretary to appoint a board of directors for the Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation (SLIC) after the governmental takeover. The Government nominated him as the new chairman of the board. [4]
During his tenure at SLIC chairman (2009–2010) Kariyawasam ran into a dispute with the board of directors over alleged violation of procedures. The Treasury Secretary of Sri Lanka, Dr P.B. Jayasundera intervened to settle this and warned kariyawasam against overstepping his powers as a non-executive chairman of the board. [5]
In May 2012 the investment committee of SLIC and its partner EPF got treasury approval for the strategic purchase of 16% of NDB shares to be executed by the purchase of Gold Quest and its parcel of shares of the bank. This company was owned by Vijay Eswaran. An attractive price was on offered for both institutes. At that point two old buddies Ajith Devasurendra and Ishara Nanayakkara got Pradeep Kariywasam to write to the parties concerned that SLIC has agreed to allocate 7% of these shares to LOLC, something that came as a surprise to all. [6] Had not the other Directors objected, LOLC would have made a windfall from the special price SLIC managed to negotiate for this parcel of NDB shares. By his actions Kariyawasam attempted to create a potential gain of Rs. 72 Million for a private, unrelated company at the cost of government agencies. [7] A clear case of insider trading was avoided due to the prompt action of SLIC Directors. [8]
From then on Kariyawasam was on his own and did not agree with many decisions that were favoured by majority of board members. Hence, the other directors decided to bring this issue to notice of higher authorities which resulted in the removal Kariywasam from his position at SLIC. [6]
On 15 May 2010 Pradeep Kariyawasam was appointed the Chairman of National Savings Bank by the government. The government was accused of disregarding his well documented failures at Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation. [9]
In May 2012, serious concerns were raised by media and other concerned parties about his involvement in the highly controversial purchase of 13% stake of The Finance Company at a highly inflated price. This resulted in the intervention of the Ministry of Finance which in turn stopped the deal in the larger interest the public which had invested in state owned banks. [10] In the meantime, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was carrying out its own investigations into some other alleged irregularities. [11] On 9 May 2012 the main opposition party UNP demanded his resignation accusing him of plundering public funds. [12] Calling the deal a Sophisticated Bank Robbery, opposition lawmaker and leading economist Dr Harsha de Silva said the country needed sophisticated law enforcement officers and regulators to tackle such fraud. [13] Dr. De Silva called for his resignation and said authorities should be allowed to carry out an impartial inquiry and punish any offenders without fear and favor just because kariyawasam is the husband of Sri Lanka's chief justice. [14]
Members of five banking sector trade unions of the National Savings Bank (NSB) resorted to a wildcat strike and demanded the resignation of NSB chairman Prdeepa Kariyawasam over the controversial share transaction amounting to Rs. 390 million. NSB branch union president, Lionel Wickremesinghe noted that the failure of the government to remove those responsible from the top management would cause irreparable damage to the credibility of the NSB. Unions affiliated to the SLFP, UNP and JVP as well as the executive officers' union had been involved in the campaign, adding that their aim was to protect the bank and that the depositors should not panic as the bank had a sound liquidity position and their deposits were protected by the government. [15] It alleged that the husband of the Chief Justice of Sri Lanka, Pradeep Kariyawasam, who continued to enjoy the power and position as chairman of the NSB among several other plum postings offered by the Rajapaksa Government in a glaring example of conflict of interest.[ citation needed ]
On 21 May 2012 Kariyawasam tended his resignation from NSB. He told the media that he had sent a lengthy resignation letter to the relevant authorities and added that the letter might be made public later on. However, the copy of the letter was never made public.[ citation needed ]
Following the impeachment of his wife, Shirani Bandaranayake, Kariyawasam was arrested on charges of bribery in which he was alleged to be involved in, which was listed as reasons for the impeachment of his wife. He was released on two personal bails of Rs. 10 million each case. [16] 26 Nov 2018-Pradeep Kariyawasam was given a suspended prison sentence and was also fined Rs. 300,000.
Kariyawasam was found guilty over the incident of purchasing shares of The Finance Company using NSB funds while being fully aware of the loss entailed to the government due to the decision.
He is married to Shirani Bandaranayake, the 43rd Chief Justice of Sri Lanka. They have one son, Shaveen Bandaranayake Kariyawasam.
Mahinda Rajapaksa is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to 2015; the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 2004 to 2005, 2018, and 2019 to 2022; the Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2004 and 2018 to 2019, and the Minister of Finance from 2005 to 2015 and 2019 to 2021. He has been a Member of Parliament (MP) for Kurunegala since 2015.
The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka is the highest court in Sri Lanka and the final judicial instance of record. Established in 1801 and empowered to exercise its powers subject to the provisions of the Constitution of Sri Lanka, the Supreme Court has ultimate appellate jurisdiction in constitutional matters and takes precedence over all lower courts. The Sri Lankan judicial system is a complex blend of common law and civil law. In some cases, such as those involving capital punishment, the decision may be passed on to the President of Sri Lanka for clemency petitions. The current Chief Justice of Sri Lanka is Jayantha Jayasuriya.
The chief justice of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is the head of the judiciary of Sri Lanka and the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. Established in 1801, the chief justice is one of ten Supreme Court justices; the other nine are the puisne justices of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. The post was created in 1801. The chief justice is nominated by the Constitutional Council, and appointed by the president. The first chief justice was Codrington Edmund Carrington. The 47th and current chief justice is Jayantha Jayasuriya.
Wijeyadasa Rajapakse, MP, PC is a Sri Lankan lawyer and politician. He is the current Minister of Justice and previously served in the same ministry from 2015 to 2017. He was the Prime Minister's nominee for the Constitutional Council During the 2018 Sri Lankan constitutional crisis, he had briefly served as the Minister of Education and Higher Education and his post was suspended by the court in 2018.
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National Savings Bank (NSB) is a state-owned Savings Bank in Sri Lanka. It was incorporated in Ceylon by the National Savings Bank Act No. 30 of 1971 and was granted the status of the Licensed Specialised Bank in terms of the Banking Act No. 30 of 1988. NSB has 262 branches. It also carries out postal banking with the cooperation of 643 post offices and 3,412 sub-post offices of the Sri Lanka Post. The current Chairperson of the NSB is Dr. Harsha Cabral
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Anuradhapura Central College is a mixed educational establishment in North Central Province, Sri Lanka. Anuradhapura Central College is a national school, which provides secondary education.
Nalaka Godahewa, MP is a Sri Lankan politician, former Cabinet Minister, and former corporate executive. He served as the Minister of Mass Media from the 18th of April 2022 until his resignation on the 9th of May 2022. Prior to that he was the State Minister Urban Development since August 2020 In addition to this, he is a member of parliament for the Gampaha District. He had served as the Chairman, Securities Exchange Commission ; Chairman, Sri Lanka Tourism (2010–2012); and Managing Director, Sri Lanka Insurance (2006–2009).
General Rohan De Silva Daluwatte, WWV, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP was a general officer of the Sri Lanka Army. He served as Commander of the Sri Lanka Army and Chief of the Defence Staff. Following his retirement from the army, he served as Sri Lankan Ambassador to Brazil among other appointments.
Shirani Bandaranayake, the 43rd Chief Justice of Sri Lanka, was impeached by Parliament and then removed from office by President Mahinda Rajapaksa in January 2013. Bandaranayake was accused of a number of charges including financial impropriety and interfering in legal cases, all of which she has denied. The impeachment followed a series of rulings against the government by the Supreme Court, including one against a bill proposed by Minister Basil Rajapaksa, President Rajapaksa's brother. Bandaranayake was replaced as chief justice by former Attorney General Mohan Peiris. Peiris is considered to be an ally of President Rajapaksa and his appointment is seen by critics as further consolidation of power by the president and his family. Bandaranayake refused to recognise the impeachment and lawyers groups refused to work with the new chief justice. Bandaranayake's controversial impeachment drew much criticism and concern from within and outside of Sri Lanka. On 28 January 2015 she was reinstated and retired on 29 January, the next day.
Events from the year 2013 in Sri Lanka.
Events from the year 2012 in Sri Lanka.
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{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)https://www.newsfirst.lk/2018/11/26/former-chairman-of-nsb-pradeep-kariyawasam-found-guilty/