Ravi Karunanayake, a Member of Parliament, has raised serious concerns in Parliament over alleged regulatory failures linked to the reported Rs. 13.2 billion fraud at NDB Bank.
Speaking in Parliament, he described the issue as one of significant national importance, warning that it raises serious questions about the integrity of the financial system and statutory accountability.
Karunanayake questioned the role of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, particularly its Bank Supervision Department, for failing to detect or act on the alleged irregularities over a period exceeding three years.
He further revealed that at least two banks had reportedly flagged suspicious transactions to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) nearly 16 months before the fraud came to light, and questioned why these alerts were not acknowledged or acted upon in line with Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations.
The MP also sought clarification on whether investigations have uncovered the involvement of other banks or non-bank financial institutions, as well as the total exposure across the financial system.
Raising concerns over the payment network, he pointed to more than 2,700 CEFT transactions and questioned why the national payment infrastructure, including LankaPay, failed to trigger alerts, and whether real-time monitoring and reconciliation systems had been properly implemented.
In addition, Karunanayake requested details on dividends withheld during the period and the impact on major institutional shareholders such as the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF), Employees’ Trust Fund (ETF), and Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation (SLIC).
He also called on the government to disclose estimates of total fiscal losses arising from the fraud, including both direct and indirect tax losses, as well as any issues related to non-collectability.
Furthermore, he questioned whether any funds had been transferred overseas or via cryptocurrency, and if so, how such transfers were carried out without exchange control approval and what recovery measures are currently underway.
Karunanayake also sought information on the decline in the bank’s share price and market capitalisation following the disclosure, and the overall loss in market value.
