CRIMINAL PROBE AGAINST ETI & SWARNAMAHAL

Colombo (News 1st); Attorney General Dappula De Livera has instructed the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to conduct criminal investigations against Directors of ETI Finance and Swarnamahal Jewellers for unauthorized acceptance of deposits of Rs. 13.7 Bn, Misappropriation & money laundering.

This was confirmed to News 1st by State Counsel Nishara Jayaratne, the coordinating officer to the Attorney General.

Further, the Attorney General had decided to forward indictments against the Director of Swarnamahal Jewellers for conducting unauthorized business.

State Counsel Nishara Jayaratne said the actions were taken as per the recommendations made by the Presidential Commission of Inquiry.

Earlier, the Inspector General of Police was also advised on the matter on the 03rd of October 2020.

Jayaratne said ETI Finance had maintained undisclosed accounts with deposits of Rs. 6.480 Billion in an illegal manner while Swarnamal Jewellers had obtained cash deposits of Rs. 7.2 Billion without any approval from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and without any registration with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.

Therefore, the Attorney General had decided to forward indictments to the High Court against the late Chairman of ETI Soma Edirisinghe, Jeewaka Hemal Edirisinghe, Anjali Deepa Edirisinghe Nalaka Premal Edirisinghe and Asanka Shrimal Edirisinghe, who operated as the directors of ETI and Swarnamahal Jewellers at the time.