The Hon. (Dr.) Anil Jayantha - Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Economic Development

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, based on the information obtained through the Central Bank’s engagement with the relevant financial institution, the following is the current status. As you mentioned, Mr. Aslam Marikkar submitted a financial consumer complaint. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka’s Financial Consumer Relations Department has conducted a formal inquiry.

¶ 02 You asked whether action would be taken to provide relief to the complainant. Yes. Through the inquiry conducted, it has been revealed that, with the intervention of the Central Bank’s Financial Consumer Relations Department, the relevant institution has already effected a waiver of penal charges for the complainant. I will present the figures at the end of my remarks. This has been communicated to the complainant. The complainant has, however, altered his complaint and has not come forward to reach a final resolution. It is also stated that, from time to time, he has been attempting to influence Central Bank officials through various parties.

¶ 03 I will summarize the actions taken by the Financial Consumer Relations Department regarding this complaint. In 2019, the loan was obtained as a lease.

¶ 04 Actions taken are as follows: On 10 March 2021, Mr. Aslam Marikkar first submitted this complaint. In April 2021, with the intervention of the Central Bank’s Financial Consumer Relations Department, a moratorium was granted. Subsequently, in November 2022, Mr. Marikkar, having defaulted on repayments, lodged another complaint. In response to his telephone inquiries, the FCRD sought information from the financial institution on 24.11.2022, 09.09.2024, 11.03.2024, 23.07.2024 and 07.04.2025, and the institution provided responses on 24.01.2023, 18.03.2024, 03.09.2024, 20.09.2024 and 05.05.2025, which were conveyed to the complainant.

¶ 05 Further, with the intervention of the FCRD, on 05.05.2025 the institution agreed to a final reduction of Rs. 195,000 from the outstanding loan balance then remaining (after payments made), which stood at Rs. 397,423. Accordingly, the amount was reduced to Rs. 197,000 as a final settlement. The Central Bank informed the complainant of this on 20.05.2025. I have a copy of that letter and I table it.

¶ 06 Placed in the Library.

¶ 07 To summarize the amounts: The 2019 lease amount was Rs. 1,925,000. By 11 April 2025, including arrears, the institution reported a total due of Rs. 4,022,301. The customer had paid about Rs. 3,584,000. Thus, an arrears balance of about Rs. 437,000 remained. As an outcome of the discussions, reductions of Rs. 45,630 and Rs. 195,262 were made, resulting in a final amount of Rs. 197,000. However, despite reaching a final agreement, the customer has not settled this amount.

¶ 08 You also mentioned that this matter has been placed before the Committee on Public Finance. I have presented the report as I received it. We will discuss what further action should be taken and, based on that outcome, determine how to proceed.

¶ 09 Hon. Presiding Member, the reply I have presented is based on information provided by the Central Bank.