Return of the Pharaohs

Central Bank has drafted new laws to combat pyramid schemes that are mushrooming around the country.Pyramid schemes use the same structure as multi-level marketing (MLM) where one entrant is required to bring in two or more recruits by the sale of a product or a voucher.rn rnBut Sri Lanka does not yet have specific provisions […]

Sex, Lies and Religion

Sri Lankas main Muslim leader Tuesday accused the government of implicating him in a sex scandal to secure his vote while a Buddhist monk charged that a fellow monk legislator had been abducted. Muslim leader Rauf Hakeem in a special address to parliament said the ruling party had fabricated a sex scandal to pressure his […]

Hanging Up

The telecom watchdog ended its standoff with Mobitel (Pvt) Ltd on Thursday, withdrawing its case with the Fort Magistrate after the two parties reached a settlement. Mobitel agreed to pay Rs. 2 mn to cover the Telecommunication Regulatory Commissions legal costs and re-affirm the regulators authority over the telco industry.rn rnThe settlement comes after months […]

First Act

The governments first piece of business when parliament opens on May 18 will be to push through an Anti-corruption Bill to replace the Bribery Commission and the Act governing it.Alliance Minister Susil Premajayantha said on Friday that the Bill is now with the Legal Draftsman and is based on the principles of transparency and accountability.rn […]

Feeling the Pinch

lquote Can the new government summon enough numbers to appoint a Speaker of its choice and announce its policy statement? Speculation is rife in Colombo but the all-powerful minorities are taking it cool. Sri Lankas 13th Parliament will meet tomorrow amidst speculation on the new governments ability to muster a majority.rn rnAt its maiden sitting […]

Not Fair

Flour Mill giant Singapores Prima Ceylon Ltd has filed papers for arbitration against the government for failing to honour two clauses in its agreement.A fresh deal signed by the government and Prima in April 2001, specified that flour giant will not be discriminated against any other company/person engaged in the producing wheat flour.rn rnThe government […]

Interim Relief

State-run Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corp. (SLRC), Independent Television Networks and the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corp. (SLBC) challenged the independent election chief on Tuesday, over his decision to takeover the media institutions.rn rnElection Chief, Dayananda Dissanayake appointed a competent authority endash W D L Perera endash to run the media institutions until polls end on Friday. […]

Short Break

The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought extra time to hear the fundamental rights application filed by state electronic media organisations against the Elections Commissioner.The matter was put off for Wednesday March 31, as one of the judges, Justice Shirani Bandaranayake declined to hear the case for personal reasons.rn rnThe other two judges endash Justices T […]

Switching Channels

Sri Lankas independent election chief took over state-owned radio and television stations amid allegations that their programs were highly biased towards the presidents party. Dissanayake said he appointed a “competent authority” to run stations until the conclusion of the election which begins with voting Friday and ends with the declaration of results a few days […]

Tough Run

NatWealth Corp., says the fund misappropriation allegations in the State media are politically motivated, baseless and a distortion on facts.The retort came Thus., following up the State medias second onslaught on the Mahapola Trust fund management subsidiary.rn rnThe allegations has also halted moves by DFCC to invest in NatWealth, and slowed efforts to grow the […]

Checkmate

Moves by DFCC Bank to invest in National Wealth Corp. were put on hold following defamatory reports by the state media on Tuesday.NatWealth, which is a fully owned subsidiary of the Mahapola Trust Fund, has denied allegations of misappropriation of funds.rn rnState news reports alleged that Rs. 3.16 bn in Mahapola Funds were illegally transferred […]

Bad Luck

The Mahapola Trust Fund and GTECH filed a counter case in courts Tuesday to fight a fundamental rights petition against the launch of its online lottery. The case is due to be taken up on March 25.The Development Lotteries Board (DLB) got an interim injunction on Monday from the Supreme Court preventing Mahapola from launching […]

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