ETI Depositors Say They Have Yet to Receive Justice

An independent organisation representing ETI depositors has called for justice for customers who have yet to recover their funds, while criticising the Central Bank of Sri Lanka over its handling of the financial institution.

Speaking at a media briefing in Colombo, H.M. Anusha Jayanthi, a civil activist, said the depositors directly hold the Central Bank of Sri Lanka responsible for the situation.

She said ETI was established in 1967 and questioned why action was not taken by the Central Bank before the institution became insolvent. She said depositors had placed hundreds of thousands of rupees with the institution because they believed it was operating with the necessary registration and approval.

According to her, depositors were unaware of the risks and assumed their money was safe because the institution was registered.

She questioned why financial institutions could not have been monitored more closely at an earlier stage and criticised the authorities for what she described as delays in resolving the matter.

She also said that court proceedings have not yet resulted in a final judgment and claimed that the Central Bank has not provided the relevant reports concerning the institution.

Jayanthi further questioned the regulation of other financial activities, including online lending institutions, and asked why stronger regulatory measures had not been introduced.

She said she had taken a loan from an online lending institution in order to gather evidence and claimed that a substantial amount of interest accumulated over a short period.