Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has ordered that the sale of Seylan Bank shares valued at Rs. 1.3 billion owned by the Bank of Ceylon be cancelled immediately.

While it has been reported that this transaction has been carried out without the government’s approval, sources add that it has also been carried without the knowledge of the Minister in charge or the Ministry Secretary.

While ordering this transaction be cancelled, the Prime Minister has also called for an immediate investigation by the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) into this issue.

The Bank of Ceylon owned 13,198,305 voting ordinary shares of Seylan Bank which is 7.5 per cent of the declared capital of Seylan Bank. While the transaction has been at Rs. 100 per share, it has recorded a turnover of Rs. 1.32 billion (1,319,830,500).

Yesterday (16 December) the final price of a Seylan Bank share had been recorded at Rs. 85.00 each, this particular transaction had been carried out at a price above the market rate, that is at Rs. 100.00 each.

According to share market statistics, a foreign party has been the buyer in this transaction.