Former COPE (Committee on Public Enterprises) Chairman Wijedasa Rajapakshe, MP, said that the likes of Sakvithi Sir wouldn’t have been able to swindle thousands of people had the Central Bank and the Finance Ministry acted on the advice and recommendations of his committee.

Responding to The Sunday Island queries, he said after examining the Central Bank on July 19 and December 1 in 2006, COPE in its first report to Parliament early 2007 asserted that adequate steps hadn’t been taken against unauthorized finance companies.

COPE also criticized the practice of periodic announcement of the illegal functioning of finance companies which the National List MP said was detrimental to the economy.

Although politicians and officials talked as if they were taken by surprise by the fraud committed by Sakvithi, he said that this wasn’t a new problem.

"We are yet to recover Rs. 7,000 million granted by the Central Bank to over a dozen bankrupt finance companies some time ago," he said.

"What have the relevant officials done to recover the money? This is nothing but gross negligence of on the part of successive governments."

Although governments had been unwilling to collect what was owed to the State, the cash-strapped administration had been open-handed in making payments to various bodies, he said.

"Let me give one example pointed out by the COPE. A foreign bank was paid a fee of USD 300,000 for arranging a loan facility of one billion rupees. Can this be justified?" he asked. (SF)