Accountability for Bond scam

THE reappointment of Shani Abeysekera as Director of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) is a moment of hope to resolve many emblematic cases, including the infamous 'Bond Scam'.

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Abeysekera, a veteran Police investigator, was hounded and persecuted by the Rajapaksa regime for daring to expose and pursue criminal wrongdoing, including high-level corruption within their ranks. His return to the CID offers an opportunity to restore public trust in law enforcement—an institution that has too often been manipulated to protect the powerful and persecute the innocent.

One of the most glaring unfinished chapters in corruption is the Central Bank Bond scam, a scandal that eroded the independence of the financial sector. While much public attention has, justifiably, focused on the Rajapaksa family's vast corruption empire, the Bond scam stands out as a betrayal committed not by populist autocrats including then prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe elected to office in 2015 on a mandate for 'Yahapalana' or good governance. The scandal was a betrayal of this mandate which ensured the return of the Rajapaksas in 2019.