Case filed on default trade at Sri Lanka's bourse

An anti-corruption organization in Sri Lanka on Thursday filed charges against a top government official, accusing him of being part of the first defaulting transaction in the Colombo Stock Exchange, local media reported. In May this year, the State-run National Savings Bank (NSB), which is one of the largest banks in the country, bought a 13 percent stake of the Finance Company at prices much higher than the market value. The transaction cost the bank 390 million rupees (about 1.3 million U.S. dollars). Following a massive outcry from shareholders and the public, President Mahinda Rajapaksa intervened and on May 12 canceled the questionable transaction. Subsequently, NSB Chairman Pradeep Kariyawasam resigned from the post but insisted that he was innocent of any wrongdoing. Months late, the Bribery and Corruption Commission filed a case against Kariyawasam for his role in the transaction, which led to the first default trade ever recorded in the history of Sri Lanka' s bourse, according to the Daily Mirror newspaper. Many activists, including main opposition MP Dr. Harsha de Silva, spoke out against the deal for months, calling on the government to take action. A date for trial is yet to be announced.