Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Director General Chinthaka Mendis has been sent on compulsory leave pending an independent investigation, following a decision endorsed by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in his role as Finance Minister Dailyft reports.
According to the news , Deputy Director General Tushara Jayaratne will serve as Officer-in-Charge on an interim basis. SEC Chairman,
Under the SEC Act, the Finance Minister may, on the recommendation of the Commission, remove a Director General if his or her continuation is deemed harmful to the Commission’s interests. The law also requires that the DG be given an opportunity to respond before any removal takes place.
Mendis has been issued a formal letter outlining the Commission’s reasons and notifying him of an impending inquiry as well as an independent probe.
A lawyer by profession, Mendis served as the SEC’s Litigation Director before his appointment as Director General in 2019.
Recently, he was at the centre of controversy over the non-disclosure of his family connection to Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) CEO-designate Vindhya Jayasekera, who is his cousin. Jayasekera also failed to disclose the relationship in her CSE CEO application. The SEC has since sought the Attorney General’s opinion on the matter.
Market observers noted that both the SEC DG and CSE CEO roles demand the highest levels of integrity to safeguard investor confidence and maintain trust in Sri Lanka’s capital markets.
