Batticaloa District MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam has welcomed a Court of Appeal ruling that upheld People’s Bank’s right to auction mortgaged properties to recover an outstanding debt of over USD 1.42 million from Daya Group Limited and Daya Apparel Export (Pvt) Ltd.
In a post on ‘X’, Shanakiyan revealed that in 2021, he exposed Rs. 54 billion in non-performing loans held by People’s Bank and questioned why politically connected and powerful borrowers were allowed to remain in default for years while ordinary citizens faced immediate consequences.
He further said that the Court has now dismissed a writ application filed by Daya Group Limited and Daya Apparel Export (Pvt) Ltd, finding that the borrowers had defaulted, engaged in repeated rescheduling discussions, sought postponements of auctions, and delayed challenging the bank’s recovery action for more than a year and eight months.
“This is a welcome step towards recovering public funds. However, this is only one case. Many other large borrowers identified in the COPE findings have remained in possession of substantial assets while their loans continued to sit as non-performing on the books of state banks, despite assurances that legal action was underway,” he said.
Pointing out that when an ordinary citizen defaults on a small loan, recovery action is swift and unforgiving, Shanakiyan said the same standard must apply to wealthy and influential borrowers.
“Public money belongs to the people, and accountability cannot depend on who owes the debt,” he added. (Newswire)