Singapore not helping bring Mahendran to justice – President

Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena

The Singapore Government had not assisted Sri Lanka in apprehending the mastermind of the Bond scam, President Maithripala Sirisena said yesterday addressing an event at Shanrgi-La Hotel to launch a five-year plan on eradicating corruption.

“The Singapore government has not assisted us the way it should have. It has not even informed us whether the person concerned is there. I am happy about how the Presidential Commission on the Bond scam conducted their inquiry but I am disappointed that we were not able to apprehend the mastermind of the scam,” the President said.

The Sri Lankan courts have issued warrants for his arrest but Singapore has been reticent. Sirisena said that he had attended a two-day regional environmental summit in Singapore earlier this year and discussed the matter with Singaporean officials.

“I asked the Singaporean Prime Minister himself whether they would hand over Mahendra, who is a citizen of Singapore. He told me that if one of their citizens was involved in a financial crime, they would not hesitate in handing him to us. However, Singapore has not made no further statement on the issue so far.”

(Source: The Island)