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* Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa to file lawsuit against Central Bank and Finance Ministry

Sat, Feb 25, 2017, 11:37 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.

Feb 25, Colombo: Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa says he will take legal action against the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance for citing him as the Minister of Finance when his term had expired after President Maithripala Sirisena's election in January 2015.

"I am seeking legal advice to file cases against the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank. After the 9th, I was not the Minister of Finance. I wish to file a lawsuit against those who used my name as the Minister of Finance," the former president said during an event in Colombo.

He was referring to an issue arose during the hearings of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry to Investigate and Inquire into the Issuance of Treasury Bonds on Thursday.

When the Commission convened on Thursday, the lawyers representing the Attorney General's Department pointed out that an Extra-Ordinary Gazette published on January 1, 2015 bearing the signature of the then Minister of Finance Mahinda Rajapaksa has noted issuance of bonds to take place later in the year.

Former president Rajapaksa said he cannot be held accountable since his tenure as the Minister of Finance ended on January 9.

The controversial bond issue took place on the 25th of February 2015.

The Presidential Commission ordered a report from the Government Printer and adjourned its sessions until Monday.