Auditor General Gamini Wijesinghe submitted a report on the Central Bank treasury bond issues from February 2015 to May 2016 to the Speaker and members of the COPE recently.

In his report, the Auditor General has blamed the then Governor of Central Bank Arjuna Mahendran for shortcomings in professional judgement and failing to avoid losses which could have been avoided.

Accordingly, the Auditor General says that an estimated loss of Rs 889,358,050 and Rs 784,898,755 could have been avoided during the bond issues on February 27, 2015 and March 29, 2016, respectively.

The report also said if the losses are calculated in the period from February 2015 to May 2016 when direct treasury bond issues were temporarily halted, the losses could be even higher.

The Auditor General also points out that his report covered only his scope, which does not include the investigation into any possible criminal activity. Such investigations, if necessary, should be carried out with the assistance of relevant authorities, the Auditor General said.