Lalith Kotelawala
Encyclopedia
Deshmanya
Jeewaka Lalith Bhupendra Kotelawala is a Sri Lanka
n businessman, who is the chairman of Ceylinco Consolidated
. He was remand
ed for the misappropriation
of 26 billion rupees of investments from the failed Golden Key Credit Company. Dr.Lalith Kotelawala was a highly respected businessman who owns nearly 30 towers of over 10 storied in Sri Lanka both residential and commercial. Dr.Lalith Kotelawala the owner of Ceylinco Consolidated
which has over 256 Companies Worldwide and many in Sri Lanka. He was listed in 2007 Sri Lanka Richest List.
Justin Kotalawela
a Ceylonese politician and businessman, he was educated at prestigious Royal College, Colombo. He is the nephew of Sir
John Kotelawala
, the third Prime Minister of Ceylon.
from his father in the 1960s, Kotelawala expanded the group into new fields Banking, Non- Banking Finance, Investment Banking, Housing & Property Development, Travel & Leisure, Communication & Information Technology, Education and Healthcare and has recently diversified into the field of microfinance. He also founded a peace initiative in Sri Lanka, three years after being wounded in an LTTE attack in 1996.
with the financial crisis, Kotalawala who was the Chairman of the company was accused of misappropriation
and Financial mismanagement
. He was remand
ed on 26.2.2009 by the Mount Lavinia
Magistrate
and an ultimatum was issued to settle the Rs. 26 billion deposits of Golden Key Creditcard Company customers in 10 days. Weeks earlier the CEO Khavan Perera, the CFO and several other directors had been remanded by the same Magistrate. In March the Magistrate refused to consider the application for bail
on the grounds that it was under consideration in a High Court
case that was continuing. He has been moved to the prison hospital.
The former Deputy Chairmen and CEO of Golden Key, Khavan Perera claimed that tens of thousands of depositors' (Rs) monies had been transferred out of Golden Key to Kotelawala's charities, the Sarana Fund and SOLO U. He has claimed that Kotelawala had drawn Rs. 3.5 million from Golden Key assets as his monthly remuneration, Rs. 500,000 for the Sarana Charity Fund, Rs. 2 million for his SOLO U charity fund and Rs. 350,000 as director's fees.
In a hearing for bail at the Mount Lavinia Chief Magistrate's court on March 27, 2009 he had been accused by the Deputy Solicitor General Sarath Jayamanna (public prosecutor) Kotelawala of running a Ponzi scheme
, however lawyers representing the inverters said that Kotelawala was not following a Ponzi scheme but, along with few other directors of Ceylinco, had misappropriated depositors’ monies, violating sections of the Companies Act, Act No. 7 of 2007. He had stated his willingness to sell off assets worth Rs. 14.5 billion and settle the deposits. On April 5, Chief Justice
Sarath N. Silva
stated in open court that Kotelawala have taken everyone for a ride and should be in Jail and not in hospital when the fundamental rights petitions filed by 23 depositors of GKCC was taken up.Chief Justice
Sarath N. Silva
started to venture to politics after his retirement from the Judicial service of Sri Lanka and he supported the former Military General Service Medal
Sarath Fonseka
who is now remanded for White Flag case and revealing military secrets outside he was also defaulted from the post Member of Parliament
His wife Sicille Kotelawala too has an arrest warrant against her and is abscondinghttp://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Sections/frmNewsDetailView.aspx?ARTID=60390.
Sam P.C. Fernando. Her mother was Stella Obeysekara Gunatilleke
Deshamanya
Deshamanya is the second highest Sri Lankan national honour awarded by the Government of Sri Lanka as a civil honour.It is conventionally used as a title or prefix to the awardee's name....
Jeewaka Lalith Bhupendra Kotelawala is a Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
n businessman, who is the chairman of Ceylinco Consolidated
Ceylinco Consolidated
Ceylinco Consolidated is one of Sri Lanka's oldest and largest business conglomerates.The original company was founded by Mr. Hugh Weerasekere and Cyril E. S. Perera QC named "Ceylon Insurance Co." listed late 1938-39....
. He was remand
Detention of suspects
The detention of suspects is the process of keeping a person who has been arrested in a police-cell, remand prison or other detention centre before trial or sentencing. One criticism of pretrial detention is that eventual acquittal can be a somewhat hollow victory, in that there is no way to...
ed for the misappropriation
Misappropriation
In law, misappropriation is the intentional, illegal use of the property or funds of another person for one's own use or other unauthorized purpose, particularly by a public official, a trustee of a trust, an executor or administrator of a dead person's estate or by any person with a responsibility...
of 26 billion rupees of investments from the failed Golden Key Credit Company. Dr.Lalith Kotelawala was a highly respected businessman who owns nearly 30 towers of over 10 storied in Sri Lanka both residential and commercial. Dr.Lalith Kotelawala the owner of Ceylinco Consolidated
Ceylinco Consolidated
Ceylinco Consolidated is one of Sri Lanka's oldest and largest business conglomerates.The original company was founded by Mr. Hugh Weerasekere and Cyril E. S. Perera QC named "Ceylon Insurance Co." listed late 1938-39....
which has over 256 Companies Worldwide and many in Sri Lanka. He was listed in 2007 Sri Lanka Richest List.
Early life and education
Born to SenatorSenate of Ceylon
The Senate of Ceylon was the upper chamber of the parliament of Ceylon established in 1947 by the Soulbury Commission. The Senate was appointed/indirectly elected rather than directly elected. The Senate was housed in the old Legislative Council building in Colombo Fort and met for the first time...
Justin Kotalawela
Justin Kotalawela
Justin Kotalawela was a Sri Lankan businessman and Senator. He was the former Chairman of the Ceylinco Group.Born to John Kotelawala a police inspector, and his bother was Sir John Kotelawala 3rd Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. He was educated at the prestigious Royal College Colombo...
a Ceylonese politician and businessman, he was educated at prestigious Royal College, Colombo. He is the nephew of Sir
Sir
Sir is an honorific used as a title , or as a courtesy title to address a man without using his given or family name in many English speaking cultures...
John Kotelawala
John Kotelawala
General Sir John Lionel Kotelawala, KBE, CH, KStJ, CLI was a Sri Lankan soldier and politician, most notable for serving as the 3rd Prime Minister of Ceylon from 1953 to 1956....
, the third Prime Minister of Ceylon.
Businessman
Taking over Ceylinco ConsolidatedCeylinco Consolidated
Ceylinco Consolidated is one of Sri Lanka's oldest and largest business conglomerates.The original company was founded by Mr. Hugh Weerasekere and Cyril E. S. Perera QC named "Ceylon Insurance Co." listed late 1938-39....
from his father in the 1960s, Kotelawala expanded the group into new fields Banking, Non- Banking Finance, Investment Banking, Housing & Property Development, Travel & Leisure, Communication & Information Technology, Education and Healthcare and has recently diversified into the field of microfinance. He also founded a peace initiative in Sri Lanka, three years after being wounded in an LTTE attack in 1996.
Golden Key Scandal and remanded for fraud
Following the collapse of the Golden Key Creditcard Company, which was affiliated to the Ceylinco ConsolidatedCeylinco Consolidated
Ceylinco Consolidated is one of Sri Lanka's oldest and largest business conglomerates.The original company was founded by Mr. Hugh Weerasekere and Cyril E. S. Perera QC named "Ceylon Insurance Co." listed late 1938-39....
with the financial crisis, Kotalawala who was the Chairman of the company was accused of misappropriation
Misappropriation
In law, misappropriation is the intentional, illegal use of the property or funds of another person for one's own use or other unauthorized purpose, particularly by a public official, a trustee of a trust, an executor or administrator of a dead person's estate or by any person with a responsibility...
and Financial mismanagement
Financial mismanagement
Financial mismanagement is management that, deliberately or not, is handled in a way that can be characterized as "wrong, bad, careless, inefficient or incompetent" and that will reflect negatively upon the financial standing of a business or individual....
. He was remand
Detention of suspects
The detention of suspects is the process of keeping a person who has been arrested in a police-cell, remand prison or other detention centre before trial or sentencing. One criticism of pretrial detention is that eventual acquittal can be a somewhat hollow victory, in that there is no way to...
ed on 26.2.2009 by the Mount Lavinia
Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia
Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Is a newly created city lying immediately south of Colombo, one of the largest cities in Sri Lanka. It is the result of certain key urban suburbs and communities combined for administrative purposes. The centres include Dehiwala and the beach resort of Mount Lavinia....
Magistrate
Magistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
and an ultimatum was issued to settle the Rs. 26 billion deposits of Golden Key Creditcard Company customers in 10 days. Weeks earlier the CEO Khavan Perera, the CFO and several other directors had been remanded by the same Magistrate. In March the Magistrate refused to consider the application for bail
Bail
Traditionally, bail is some form of property deposited or pledged to a court to persuade it to release a suspect from jail, on the understanding that the suspect will return for trial or forfeit the bail...
on the grounds that it was under consideration in a High Court
High Court
The term High Court usually refers to the superior court of a country or state. In some countries, it is the highest court . In others, it is positioned lower in the hierarchy of courts The term High Court usually refers to the superior court (or supreme court) of a country or state. In some...
case that was continuing. He has been moved to the prison hospital.
The former Deputy Chairmen and CEO of Golden Key, Khavan Perera claimed that tens of thousands of depositors' (Rs) monies had been transferred out of Golden Key to Kotelawala's charities, the Sarana Fund and SOLO U. He has claimed that Kotelawala had drawn Rs. 3.5 million from Golden Key assets as his monthly remuneration, Rs. 500,000 for the Sarana Charity Fund, Rs. 2 million for his SOLO U charity fund and Rs. 350,000 as director's fees.
In a hearing for bail at the Mount Lavinia Chief Magistrate's court on March 27, 2009 he had been accused by the Deputy Solicitor General Sarath Jayamanna (public prosecutor) Kotelawala of running a Ponzi scheme
Ponzi scheme
A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to its investors from their own money or the money paid by subsequent investors, rather than from any actual profit earned by the individual or organization running the operation...
, however lawyers representing the inverters said that Kotelawala was not following a Ponzi scheme but, along with few other directors of Ceylinco, had misappropriated depositors’ monies, violating sections of the Companies Act, Act No. 7 of 2007. He had stated his willingness to sell off assets worth Rs. 14.5 billion and settle the deposits. On April 5, Chief Justice
Chief Justice
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...
Sarath N. Silva
Sarath N. Silva
Sarath Nanda Silva PC is a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka.He obtained his Primary and Secondary school education at Trinity College Kandy and continued to Sri Lanka Law College. Prior to civil service, his achievements included work obtaining a Master of Laws degree Magna...
stated in open court that Kotelawala have taken everyone for a ride and should be in Jail and not in hospital when the fundamental rights petitions filed by 23 depositors of GKCC was taken up.Chief Justice
Chief Justice
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...
Sarath N. Silva
Sarath N. Silva
Sarath Nanda Silva PC is a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka.He obtained his Primary and Secondary school education at Trinity College Kandy and continued to Sri Lanka Law College. Prior to civil service, his achievements included work obtaining a Master of Laws degree Magna...
started to venture to politics after his retirement from the Judicial service of Sri Lanka and he supported the former Military General Service Medal
Military General Service Medal
The Military General Service Medal was a campaign medal approved in 1847, for issue to officers and men of the British Army.The MGSM was approved on 1 June 1847 as a retrospective award for various military actions from 1793–1814; a period encompassing the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic...
Sarath Fonseka
Sarath Fonseka
Gardihewa Sarath Chandralal Fonseka, known as Sarath Fonseka is a former commander and General of the Sri Lanka Army and a former candidate for President of Sri Lanka. As Commander of the Army, he played an instrumental role in ending the 26 year Sri Lankan Civil War in 2009, defeating the...
who is now remanded for White Flag case and revealing military secrets outside he was also defaulted from the post Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
His wife Sicille Kotelawala too has an arrest warrant against her and is abscondinghttp://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Sections/frmNewsDetailView.aspx?ARTID=60390.
Honors
- Kotelawala was awarded an Honorary DegreeHonorary degreeAn honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
as Doctor of PhilosophyDoctor of PhilosophyDoctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
by the University of Sri JayewardenepuraUniversity of Sri JayewardenepuraThe University of Sri Jayewardenepura is one of the Universities in Sri Lanka. It is located in Gangodawila, Nugegoda, near Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte, the capital city of Sri Lanka...
Family
Kotelawala married Sicille Fernando, the daughter of former Cabinet Minister of Justice, SenatorSenate of Ceylon
The Senate of Ceylon was the upper chamber of the parliament of Ceylon established in 1947 by the Soulbury Commission. The Senate was appointed/indirectly elected rather than directly elected. The Senate was housed in the old Legislative Council building in Colombo Fort and met for the first time...
Sam P.C. Fernando. Her mother was Stella Obeysekara Gunatilleke