By Amrit Muttukumaru –
Amrit Muttukumaru
The NDB FRAUD in terms of its IMPLICATIONS to the country is the most dangerous FINANCIAL FRAUD in recent times – more dangerous than even the Bond Scam. This is because it affects the ENTIRE Banking/Financial system in COLLUSION with the CBSL. It inter alia involves some of the biggest names in the PRIVATE SECTOR who are on the ‘Director Board’ of NDB Bank PLC.
Although the government through the EPF/ETF/SLIC/BOC is the MAJOR SHAREHOLDER of publicly owned NDB Bank PLC, the CBSL which falls under the purview of the Ministry of Finance of which the subject Minister is President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has not only ALLOWED the NDB ‘Director Board’ which FAILED to prevent the FRAUD to CONTINUE in office but also given tacit APPROVAL to appoint an ‘international firm’ to carry out the FORENSIC AUDIT. Does this not have the POTENTIAL to bury the fraud through a MANAGED FORENSIC AUDIT?
The context to this is:
1) CBSL Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe was a Deputy Governor under Arjuna Mahendran at the time of the CBSL Bond Scam. Yet despite all the brouhaha from AKD about ‘system change’ he had no problem in appointing him as Governor.
2) The External Auditors of NDB Bank is Ernst & Young of which Managing Partner Duminda Hulangamuwa is Senior Economic Adviser to AKD. On this basis alone is not Hulangamuwa’s position as adviser to AKD fraught with ‘conflict of interest’?
3) One area in which successive governments, oppositions in Sri Lanka and the media have CONSENSUS is in giving a FREE PASS to the PRIVATE SECTOR which for the most part is the MOTHER of political corruption.
4) Powerful interests in CONCERT with the mainstream MEDIA have DEVIOUSLY introduced DISTRACTIONS – the latest being the missing USD 2.5 Million from the Treasury. Hence is it surprising that the NDB Fraud has COMPLETELY gone off the radar?
5) Although without question the country must get to the bottom of the COAL SCAM and other credible instances of corruption which includes the missing USD 2.5 Million from the Treasury, it is DANGEROUS for the country to take the eye off the ball from the NDB Fraud.
Hiding Reason/s for Resignation of ‘Board Director’ Shanil
The KEY to UNRAVELLING the NDB FRAUD is the REASON/S for the resignation of ‘Board Director’ Shanil Fernando. This is precisely what is being HIDDEN from the country.
Worse than this is that regulatory agencies and the mainstream MEDIA presumably at the behest of the INFLUENTIAL NDB ‘Director Board’ are doing their damnedest to PORTRAY Shanil Fernando as the villain of the piece for the fraud. Being DOWNPLAYED is that he only became a ‘board director’ in January 2026.
The MODUS OPERANDI of these DESPERATE mischief makers include:
1) The letter from NDB Company Secretary Shehani Ranasinghe to the Chief Regulatory Officer of the CSE dated 27 April 2026 merely refers to Shanil Fernando’s resignation effective from that date without giving any reason/s for the resignation. The only other issue mentioned by Shehani Ranasinghe is presumably a SUBTERFUGE – “The Shareholding of Mr. Shanil Fernando as at the date of his resignation will be notified in due course.”
2) At the time this article is being written on 2 May, the CSE website under ‘CORPORATE DISCLOSURES’ does not mention a word about the resignation of NDB ‘Board Director’ Shanil Fernando let alone giving the reason/s for the resignation. Is not the reason/s CRUCIAL to shareholders/depositors of NDB?
3) The MEDIA by highlighting Shanil Fernando’s IMPRESSIVE Digital Technology credentials such as being the ‘Co-Founder of Sysco Labs’ tacitly/mischievously attempts to portray that he has been NEGLIGENT to ALERT the ‘Director Board’.
Dereliction of Duty by Dr. Harsha de Silva?
Given the FACT that the government through the EPF/ETF/SLIC/BOC is the MAJOR SHAREHOLDER of the publicly owned NDB Bank PLC, is it not a DERELICTION OF DUTY for the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) of which leading opposition member Dr. Harsha de Silva is Chairman to IGNORE the NDB fraud? The same applies to the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) of which government parliamentarian Dr. Nishantha Samaraweera is Chairman.
Conclusion
The SEC must DEMAND that the CSE FORTHWITH:
1) Obtains Shanil Fernando’s letter of resignation and NOTIFIES the PUBLIC on its website under ‘CORPORATE DISCLOSURES’.
2) The CSE informs the MEDIA accordingly.
SEC Chairman, Dr. Hareendra Dissabandara is an appointee of President AKD in his capacity as Minister of Finance.
Jit / May 3, 2026
Amrit — My comments on your points:
Regarding CBSL Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe: While he was a Deputy Governor under Arjuna Mahendran during the Bond Scam, do you have any evidence that he acted in concert with Mahendran? Without proof of complicity, there was no reason to disqualify him from the role. Furthermore, it is worth noting that he was appointed by Gotabaya Rajapaksa, not AKD.
Regarding Duminda Hulangamuwa: I agree with you here. Given that Ernst & Young (where Hulangamuwa is Managing Partner) serves as the external auditor for NDB Bank, his role as Senior Economic Adviser to AKD does seem fraught with a potential conflict of interest. I am also unsure why AKD chose him for this position.
On the Private Sector:
Having spent my entire career in the Sri Lankan private sector throughout the 90s, I recall a time when the industry was largely clean and transparent. I was active in various professional forums and worked closely with senior figures whose integrity was never in doubt; our focus was purely on developing the sector and the country. However, the system shifted drastically during CBK’s second term and under MR’s presidency. Much has been written about that infamous era, so I won’t bore you by repeating the obvious.
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Amrit Muttukumaru / May 3, 2026
Jit
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Thank you for your comments.
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1) The ONLY area where you DIFFER is in regard to the SUITABILTY of Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe to be CBSL Governor.
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2) You ask – “While he was a Deputy Governor under Arjuna Mahendran during the Bond Scam, do you have any evidence that he acted in concert with Mahendran?”
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3) While I am unable to say “he acted in concert with Mahendran”, no one can say that he did not either! The point I am making is that under the circumstances would it not have been prudent to have avoided appointing him Governor?
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4) On the NDB Fraud, is not only ALLOWING the NDB ‘Director Board’ which FAILED to prevent the FRAUD to CONTINUE in office but also giving them tacit APPROVAL to appoint an ‘international firm’ to carry out the FORENSIC AUDIT indicative of UNSUITABILTY?
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5) As per the ‘Monetary Law Act’:
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“The President may, on the recommendation of the Minister in charge of the subject of Finance, remove the Governor”
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“if he has done any act or thing which, in the opinion of the President is of a fraudulent or illegal character or is manifestly opposed to the objects and interests of the Central Bank”
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6) AKD is both President and Minister of Finance
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7) I have erred in stating that he was appointed by AKD.
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Amrit Muttukumaru
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Jit / May 4, 2026
Amrit, what I have heard was that NW left for Australia to live permanently because he found it difficult to work with Mahendran, particularly with matters related to the Bond issues. He would have been there for sometime under Mahendran carrying trivial duties like any other but that doesnt mean he was an integral part of the scam. There were many other senior officers at the bank who didnt approve what Ranil and Mahendran carelessly did during Yahapalanaya – issuing colossal amount of debt instruments while the country was at the edge of unmanageable gearing ratio. It was both Ranil and Mahinda who were instrumental in emptying the coffers to a level that blew up as our first bankruptcy – darn right on Gota’s face!
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