Central Bank (CBSL) in a clarification on expenses incurred by the Governor rejects media reports of “misusing public funds.”
"The expenses relating to all official duties and events attended by the Governor and CBSL officials both locally and internationally are borne by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, similar to the general practice of any other Ministry or Department,” CBSL clarified.
In the recent past, the CBSL Governor and staff participated in numerous annual and bilateral meetings organized by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the South East Asian Central Banks (SEACEN), and the Asian Clearing Union (ACU). In addition, the Governor accompanied the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance on a number of official visits abroad. Further, entertainment expenses were incurred on several occasions when representatives of a number of international financial organizations visited Sri Lanka.
All these expenses were incurred in accordance with the laws and regulations approved by the Parliament of Sri Lanka and that of the CBSL and abiding by principles and procedures of government financial regulations. The accounts of these expenses are audited by the Internal Audit Department of the CBSL and the Auditor General of the country. No audit report has been received which mentions instances that the expenses for official visits of the Governor and CBSL staff were in contravention of the stipulated rules or regulations, or that such expenses were misused.
Travel expenses for CBSL reduced to Rs. 96.6 million in 2015 compared with Rs. 133.8 million in 2014. This brought about a saving of Rs. 37.2 million, the CBSL said.