President extends Commission of Inquiry on bond fiasco by three months

President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday extended by three months the term of the Commission of Inquiry (COI) looking into the issue of Treasury bonds.

The gazette notification by the Presidential Secretariat said: “The President has further enlarged the time by three months to submit the report of the Issuance of Treasury Bonds from 27 July 2017 to 27 October 2017.”

The COI last week wrote to the President’s Office seeking a second three-month extension to conclude its work.

The COI was appointed by President Sirisena in January to look into irregularities in respect of issuance of Treasury bonds including the controversial Central Bank bond issue of 1 February 2015 and 31 March 2016 and was initially given three months from its date of appointment on 27 January to submit its report, setting out its findings and recommendations.

However the Commission sought a three-month extension in April as it was unable to complete its work. With the second extension scheduled to lapse on 27 July, the Commission had sought another three months to finish its work.

Its members are Supreme Court Justices K.T Chitrasiri and Prasanna Sujeewa Jayawardana and retired Deputy Auditor General Kandasamy Veluppillai.