Golden Key employees joined distraught depositors of the collapsed Ceylinco subsidiary in a demonstration demanding justice, in Colombo last week.

Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) parliamentarian, Ven. Uduwe Dhammaloka thera said that all depositors should stand united in demanding back their hard-earned savings, which have been grabbed from these suffering people by Golden Key.

"Everybody should come forward and join hands to agitate as this is a humanitarian campaign for justice and fairplay", the prelate stressed.

He said that as the patron of the Golden Key Depositors Association, he will continue to lead this struggle on behalf of thousands of people who are going through misery as they had been denied of their life-long savings.

Three months have gone by and there is still no relief granted to desperate depositors, some of whom have now been reduced to paupers, Ven. Dhammaloka thera pointed out.

"These poor depositors have suffered enough", he said. "Their deposits plus the due interest should be settled without any further delay".

He said the President had also expressed concern over this situation as it has reflected adversely on the whole financial sector in the country.

The National Freedom Front led by Wimal Weerawansa has also pledged support to the cause of the depositors.

A Buddhist monk at the demonstration said a parliamentarian from the South was also invited to join this just struggle on behalf of harried depositors. But, he didn’t turn up.

Bus loads of depositors from the outstations, including Kandy, Matara and Kurunegala also joined the protest opposite the Duplication road office of Golden Key. Carrying banners and shouting slogans, the demonstrators marched to Lipton’s Circus and later to the Ceylinco The Finance office.

"The agitation will continue until Chairman Lalith Kotelawala honours his world and pay back all the deposits", insisted Ms. Anusha Emmert, the president of the Association.

"At the first meeting Kotelawala had with depositors at the BMICH, I suggested that he pays depositors a reasonable interest until monies are settled within a six-month period", she recalled. "If he had heeded my advice his companies would not have crashed".

"Depositors would have been happy with even the interest rate state banks pay", she noted. "Now, it has become a major issue threatening the stability of the financial sector".

She asked depositors to call over during morning hours of every Monday and Thursday near the Golden Key office to meet office bearers of the Association to discuss future plans.

The Association is also planning to file a Fundamental Rights (FR) plea in the Supreme Court as Golden Key is dragging its feet in submitting a proper re-payment plan to grant relief to depositors.

The Association’s treasurer, Ms. Dushyanthi Hapugoda said moves by the company to deduct the interest paid so far and refund the balance have been vehemently opposed by depositors.

"This is totally unacceptable", she said. "We cannot allow the hard-earned money, including those of pensioners, to be swallowed up in this manner".

She said that according to data obtained by the Association, 75% of the deposits are under Rs. 3 million in value. The number of depositors in the Rs. 1-2 mn range is 1,958, Rs. 2-3 mn – 1,071, Rs. 3-4 mn – 556, Rs. 4-5 mn – 420. The big deposits are relatively smaller – Rs. 20-30 mn – 82 and Rs. 40-50 mn – 31. There are 4,000 depositors under the Rs. 1 mn range.

In documents filed in courts, Golden Key has indicated that it has settled deposits only to the value of Rs. 95 million so far.

The Depositors Association is planning another demonstration near the Aluthkade courts on March 11 when the bail application filed on behalf of Lalith Kotelawala, who is now on remand, is expected to come up for hearing.

This will be followed by another protest near the Mt. Lavinia Magistrate’s court before the Golden Key case is taken up for hearing again at 2 pm on the same day.

Meanwhile, employees of the company complained that they have not been paid their February remuneration so far. The number of employees in the company is 550.