A private sector trade union in Sri Lanka is to lodge a complaint today with the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery and Corruption calling for an inquiry into the investing of Employees Provident Fund (EPF) monies in the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE).
Head of the Inter Company Employees’ Union (ICEU), Wasantha Samarasinghe told ColomboPage that a complaint would be lodged today calling on the Bribery Commission to investigate into the alleged fraudulent transactions of EPF monies in the stock market that have resulted in the Fund incurring billion rupee losses.
He says that EPF monies have been invested in stocks in an arbitrary manner resulting in the Fund incurring a Rs. 4 billion loss.
The Fund has invested Rs. 7.2 billion in the CSE.
According to Samarasinghe, the government has failed to take any action to inquire into these losses incurred in the stock market or to prevent the further loss of EPF monies.
However, the Employees’ Provident Fund Department of the Central Bank says only around 6 percent of the fund is invested in stock market and the investments in the stock market are made with a long term focus to generate profit and enhance the Fund�s capital base over the longer term.
Samarasinghe said the Fund is formed of monies from private sector employees and it is therefore the working masses that would have to bear the losses.
“It is the hard earned money of the private sector workers that the government has swindled and action need to be taken,” Samarasinghe charged.
The EPF administrators say their policy of investing in stock market has resulted in the fund recording substantial gains.
According to the Central Bank, the EPF has realized Rs. 2.5 billion as capital gains and dividends in 2011, and realized over Rs. 1.56 billion as capital gains and dividends, so far in 2012.
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.