Respondents violated bail conditions without paying Rs. 40 m to Golden Key depositors

By T. Farook Thajudeen

The counsel for the depositors of Golden Key credit card company complained to the Colombo High Court that the respondents had violated the bail conditions by failing to pay Rs. 40 million to the depositors as agreed by them before Supreme Court as a condition when seeking bail to the respondents.

Counsel Sumudu Hettige made this disclosure to High Court Judge Sunil Rajapaksa during the inquiry into Golden Key credit card company allegedly for misappropriating around Rs. 720 million of cash deposited in the credit card company by the depositors.

At the onset of the case Senior State Counsel Damith Totawatte filed a list of witnesses who were to give evidence for the prosecution.

Subsequently Counsel Sumudu Hettige appearing for the aggrieved parties made the disclosure about the non payment of cash by the respondents to the depositors.

Thus President Counsel Jayantha Weerasinghe appearing for one of the accused objecting Sumudu Hettige and said that already the defendants had already paid Rs. 1.2 million to the complainants.

The court ordered the complainant Counsel if any violation of the bail conditions had taken place to complain to the Supreme Court since the bail was granted by Supreme Court and the case was postponed for 9 March.

The Attorney General indicted nine respondents including its Chairman Lalith Kotelawala, Shanthi Kumar, Kavan Michael Perera, Prasanna Sumanasekera, Suramya Tharanatha Karunasena, Jude Leonard Neranjan Fernando, Sicille Kotelawala, Pathmini Kamaladevi Karunanayake and Vithana Ralalage Dharmasiri for running the credit card company from 23 March 1999 to 24 December 2008 at Bambalapitiya by violating Section 2 (1) of the Monetary Act No. 78 of 1988 and for misappropriating over Rs. 720 million that was deposited in the company by the depositors.

The trial against the sixth accused Sicille Kotelawala was fixed to hear in absentia on the provisions under Section 241 of the Penal Code.