COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Sri Lanka’s prime minister has appeared before a commission that is probing alleged wrongdoing in the sale of government bonds that opposition lawmakers say led to a loss of about $1 billion.
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Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said his government has “nothing to hide.”
He told the commission that the government needed money to pay for projects such as road construction that the previous administration did not include on government books.
The scandal has tainted Wickremesinghe’s government, which came to power promising to eradicate corruption.
The commission was appointed by President Maithripala Sirisena amid mounting criticism of the former Central Bank governor by opposition lawmakers and other critics. Most of the bonds were sold to a company owned by the governor’s son-in-law, who is accused of making massive profits.
