On an application made by the Attorney General on behalf of the Criminal Investigation Department, the High Court of Colombo earlier today made order extending the order made last week by the Director of the Financial Investigation Unit of the Central Bank freezing all bank accounts of 24 companies of the Perpetual Treasuries Group LD companies. The extension will initially be valid for 30 days and is renewable.

These measures are aimed at ensuring that Perpetual Treasuries Limited or other parties acting in concert with it, do not transfer our money derived out of transactions involving illegally acquired Treasury Bonds.

Thus, the future efforts of the Attorney General to have the proceeds of crime confiscated and forfeited to the State will not be frustrated as the monies in the frozen accounts will remain intact.

This decision will increase the confidence of the initiative to bring the perpetrators of the financial crime related to the Treasury bond issuance before law and recover the losses to the state.