Twenty thousand shadowy entities

accepting deposits - MP

UDITHA kumarasinghe and IRANGIKA range

UNP MP Lakshman Kiriella revealed in Parliament that there were nearly 20,000 individuals together with unregistered financial institutions accepting monetary deposits from the public and the Central Bank had failed to take any steps to stop them.

The Central Bank has placed advertisements in newspapers giving the names of only 31 registered financial institutions.

"There is no problem regarding the registered financial companies. What about the unregistered ones. There are around 20,000 unregistered finance companies and individuals who accept deposits from the public. This was revealed by a well known economist Ranjith Fernando at a recent seminar," he said. The MP said these unregistered financial companies and individuals control nearly 10 to 15 per cent of financial investments within the country. However, the Central Bank has the ability to prevent such companies and individuals taking deposits from the people. The Central Bank officials should visit these institutions and check their documents.