{"id":207319,"date":"2020-01-04T18:11:46","date_gmt":"2020-01-04T12:41:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=207319"},"modified":"2020-01-04T18:13:10","modified_gmt":"2020-01-04T12:43:10","slug":"hnb-response-to-muttukumarus-article","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/hnb-response-to-muttukumarus-article\/","title":{"rendered":"HNB Response To Muttukumaru\u2019s Article"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hatton National Bank has today responded to an opinion article written by Amrit Muttukumaru titled –\u00a0Hatton National Bank & Central Bank Must Come Clean On \u201cGrand Tax Evasion<\/strong><\/span><\/a>\u201d Allegation. We publish below the HNB response as well as the writer Muttukumaru’s reply to the HNB response in full:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

HNB Managing Director\/CEO – Jonathan Alles<\/p><\/div>\n

HNB response:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe write in response to an article authored by Amrit Muttukumaru titled: Hatton National Bank & Central Bank Must Come Clean On \u201cGrand Tax Evasion\u201d Allegation, published by Colombo Telegraph on 2 January 2020, and which is derived from unsubstantiated allegations published by another website on 23 October 2013.<\/p>\n

At the outset, HNB categorically refutes the totally unsubstantiated allegations made by Muttukumaru and reiterates that HNB has at all times strictly honored its statutory and ethical obligations including vis a vis, its obligations relating to payment of all taxes due to the Government.<\/p>\n

The truth of this fact can and should be verified by reference to relevant legal authorities such as the Inland Revenue Department and other relevant regulatory and\/or supervisory authorities.
\nFurther the Bank has at all times ensured full and proper disclosure of pertinent financial information including all matters relating to outstanding tax assessments against the bank in the relevant Annual Reports, including the time period specified by Muttukumaru.<\/p>\n

HNB also continues to contribute the highest percentage of its profits to the Government as taxes, as evidenced in HNB\u2019s 2018 Annual Report, which shows a contribution equivalent to 47% of its operating profit amounting to Rs. 13.8 billion as taxes.<\/p>\n

HNB reiterates that to the present day, the bank has not received a single communication from any of the relevant authorities relating to tax evasion, contradictory to Muttukumaru\u2019s unsubstantiated allegations. HNB further notes that Muttukumaru has provided zero evidence to support a single claim made by him, save for a previous article published by the Sri Lanka Mirror.<\/p>\n

Similarly, the original article \u2013 published in 2013 – itself contains zero evidence of the wrongdoing alleged by Muttukumaru, and simply concludes with the unfulfilled promise that \u201cmore information on this fraud will be revealed soon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Given the lack of any type of documentary or even verbal evidence provided by Muttukumaru to substantiate his claims, authorities within the bank contacted Muttukumaru in order to understand on what basis his claims were being made but these were ignored.<\/p>\n

Muthukumaru\u2019s lack of evidence to substantiate his allegations has not deterred him from repeatedly attempting to do harm to the reputation of an organization which has diligently worked to bolster the standards of banking products, services, and governance in the country, to the benefit of the largest number of Sri Lankan customers, spanning retail, SME, and microfinance.
\nGiven the reckless and malicious nature of his comments, HNB reserves the right to pursue legal action to seek redress against Muttukumaru for intentionally publishing false accusations against HNB.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chammika Weerasinghe –\u00a0Head of Marketing,\u00a0Hatton National Bank Plc<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Muttukumaru’s reply:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

At the end of the HNB response is the reply of the writer of the article Amrit Muttukumaru<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Amrit Muttukumaru<\/p><\/div>\n

1) The issues raised in my article \u201cHatton National Bank & Central Bank Must Come Clean On \u201cGrand Tax Evasion\u201d Allegation\u201d are clearly not \u2018Marketing\u2019 issues and hence it is not appropriate for HNB\u2019s \u2018Head of Marketing\u2019 to have been involved. Are these not important enough to engage the attention of HNB Managing Director\/CEO – Jonathan Alles?<\/p>\n

2) My article makes it clear that it is not based on empirical evidence gathered by me but on data available in the PUBLIC DOMAIN<\/b>. It was published in the website \u2018Sri Lanka Mirror\u2019 on 23 October 2013 under the caption \u201cHNB\u2019s grand tax evasion\u201d. <\/b>The link to the website was given to both Jonathan Alles and then Central Bank (CBSL) Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy as far back as 25 September 2017. It was to no avail.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

3) The serious allegations relating to tax evasion<\/b> have not been refuted <\/b>by HNB all these years. They were not even refuted when I brought them to the attention of Jonathan Alles – HNB Managing Director\/CEO as far back as 10 November 2017 by e-mail and in subsequent reminders.<\/p>\n

4) Despite HNB knowing fully well that I have nothing to do with these allegations, HNB MISCHIEVOUSLY <\/b>keeps referring to \u201callegations made by Muttukumaru\u201d!<\/p>\n

5) My article makes it clear that I am faulting HNB for not investigating the serious allegations in \u2018Sri Lanka Mirror\u2019 to determine its truth or falsity<\/b>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

6) Then HNB Chairman Dr. Ranee Jayamaha while CONFIRMING<\/b> wrongdoing on the telephone indicated to me that the \u2018Rs 600 million\u2019 mentioned was an exaggeration. In this connection, I requested Jonathan Alles to forward my e-mail of 25 September 2017 to Dr. Jayamaha. Has he done so? If not why?<\/p>\n

7) While the CBSL confirmed<\/b> to me by e-mail on 6 November 2017 \u201cThe matter is being brought to the attention of the Inland Revenue Department\u201d, HNB contradicts<\/b> this by asserting there was no allegation of any tax evasion and an \u201cinternal probe\u201d <\/i>never took place.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

8) If this is the case, it is surprising that both HNB and CBSL have been \u2018sleeping at the wheel\u2019 for so many years in the face of these serious allegations!<\/p>\n

9) It beggars belief as to why CBSL referred the matter to the \u2018Inland Revenue Department\u2019 if there was no merit in the allegations in \u2018Sri Lanka Mirror\u2019?<\/p>\n

10) It also beggars belief why HNB after keeping quiet all these years only now AFTER <\/b>my article claims \u201czero evidence\u201d of the \u201cwrongdoing\u201d alleged by \u2018Sri Lanka Mirror\u2019? I re-iterate I have not alleged any \u201cwrongdoing\u201d by HNB or any party connected to HNB.<\/p>\n

11) Under the circumstances, is it not disingenuous<\/b> for HNB to invite me for a meeting on 27 December 2019 to \u201cdiscuss\u201d<\/b> this matter? What they should have done was to have invited the Editor of \u2018Sri Lanka Mirror\u2019 years ago<\/b> to substantiate <\/b>his website\u2019s allegations. What is the implication of HNB\u2019s failure to do so? If HNB is sincere in clearing up this issue in the public interest, should they not do so even now?<\/p>\n

12) I demand that HNB forthwith gives a responsible<\/b> response in the public interest<\/b> to the serious allegations in \u2018Sri Lanka Mirror\u2019 without any further PREVARICATION<\/b>.<\/p>\n

Amrit Muttukumaru<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[…]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":207321,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,1,2375],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-207319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-news","category-stories"],"yoast_head":"\nHNB Response To Muttukumaru\u2019s Article - Colombo Telegraph<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/hnb-response-to-muttukumarus-article\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"HNB Response To Muttukumaru\u2019s Article - Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[…]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/hnb-response-to-muttukumarus-article\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-01-04T12:41:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-01-04T12:43:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/HNB-Managing-DirectorCEO-Jonathan-Alles.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"308\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"308\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/hnb-response-to-muttukumarus-article\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/hnb-response-to-muttukumarus-article\/\",\"name\":\"HNB Response To Muttukumaru\u2019s Article - Colombo Telegraph\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/hnb-response-to-muttukumarus-article\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/hnb-response-to-muttukumarus-article\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/HNB-Managing-DirectorCEO-Jonathan-Alles.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-01-04T12:41:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-01-04T12:43:10+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9db3d0cfcfa59e1997e3c3524d454cb3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/hnb-response-to-muttukumarus-article\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/hnb-response-to-muttukumarus-article\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/hnb-response-to-muttukumarus-article\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/HNB-Managing-DirectorCEO-Jonathan-Alles.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/HNB-Managing-DirectorCEO-Jonathan-Alles.jpg\",\"width\":308,\"height\":308,\"caption\":\"HNB Managing Director\/CEO - Jonathan Alles\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/hnb-response-to-muttukumarus-article\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"HNB Response To Muttukumaru\u2019s Article\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/\",\"name\":\"Colombo Telegraph\",\"description\":\"In journalism truth is a process\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9db3d0cfcfa59e1997e3c3524d454cb3\",\"name\":\"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/920b3181b0bf86b5c339ad9f0963a89f6a8b19c4b971e629987a021ba7a663df?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/920b3181b0bf86b5c339ad9f0963a89f6a8b19c4b971e629987a021ba7a663df?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/author\/colombo_telegraph\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"HNB Response To Muttukumaru\u2019s Article - Colombo Telegraph","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/hnb-response-to-muttukumarus-article\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"HNB Response To Muttukumaru\u2019s Article - Colombo Telegraph","og_description":"[…]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/hnb-response-to-muttukumarus-article\/","og_site_name":"Colombo Telegraph","article_published_time":"2020-01-04T12:41:46+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-01-04T12:43:10+00:00","og_image":[{"width":308,"height":308,"url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/HNB-Managing-DirectorCEO-Jonathan-Alles.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/hnb-response-to-muttukumarus-article\/","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/hnb-response-to-muttukumarus-article\/","name":"HNB Response To Muttukumaru\u2019s Article - Colombo Telegraph","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/hnb-response-to-muttukumarus-article\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/hnb-response-to-muttukumarus-article\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/HNB-Managing-DirectorCEO-Jonathan-Alles.jpg","datePublished":"2020-01-04T12:41:46+00:00","dateModified":"2020-01-04T12:43:10+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9db3d0cfcfa59e1997e3c3524d454cb3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/hnb-response-to-muttukumarus-article\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/hnb-response-to-muttukumarus-article\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/hnb-response-to-muttukumarus-article\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/HNB-Managing-DirectorCEO-Jonathan-Alles.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/HNB-Managing-DirectorCEO-Jonathan-Alles.jpg","width":308,"height":308,"caption":"HNB Managing Director\/CEO - Jonathan Alles"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/hnb-response-to-muttukumarus-article\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"HNB Response To Muttukumaru\u2019s Article"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/","name":"Colombo Telegraph","description":"In journalism truth is a process","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9db3d0cfcfa59e1997e3c3524d454cb3","name":"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/920b3181b0bf86b5c339ad9f0963a89f6a8b19c4b971e629987a021ba7a663df?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/920b3181b0bf86b5c339ad9f0963a89f6a8b19c4b971e629987a021ba7a663df?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH"},"url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/author\/colombo_telegraph\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/HNB-Managing-DirectorCEO-Jonathan-Alles.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207319","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=207319"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207319\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":207325,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207319\/revisions\/207325"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/207321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=207319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=207319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=207319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}