The main opposition United National Party (UNP) yesterday accused ruling party politicians of using the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) for laundering their ill-gotten money with the help of 17 agents.
UNP Senior Vice President and Kandy District parliamentarian Lakshman Kiriella told journalists that this was how the stock market mafia came into existence.
“This only goes to show that the mafia is operating with the blessings of top ruling party politicians,” he said He alleged that these politicians were using the stock market to launder the money they had plundered through corrupt deals. Mr. Kiriella charged that these politicians were the ones blocking the investigations because they feared being exposed if an independent probe was carried out.
He said a group of 17 brokers had grown to be so influential today even to the extent that they were able to compel former Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Tilak Karunaratne to resign. Mr. Kiriella said the most effective solution to this crisis was to reenact the 17th Amendment to the Constitution under which all major institutions including the Judiciary, the Police, and the Election Department would be independent.
“The issue today is that none of these institutions including the Security and Exchange Commission are independent and therefore no activity can take place without political interference,”he said and added that it would be impossible to stop the economic mafias, murders and thefts without enacting proper laws to make important institutions independent.
BY YOHAN PERERA
Aug 25, 2012
Source: Daily Mirror – Sri Lanka