LTTE manipulating Colombo stock exchange

The roller coaster ride of the pivotal Colombo stock exchange despite the overwhelming success of the governments $500 million sovereign bond has raised fears of a possible manipulation of the bourse by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

In the backdrop of the Sri lankan Central Bank warning that a person failing to report a suspicious financial transaction could face a fine of up to one million Sri Lankan Rupees, a former Secretariat for Coordinating Peace Process (SCOPP) official has revealed the possible participation of the LTTE in the Colombo Stock Exchange.

The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) is the only stock exchange licensed by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka.

Shanaka Jayasekera, a researcher of the Centre for Policy, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism of Macquarie University, Australia has alleged that it was revealed by the SCOPP of the "possible participation of the LTTE in the CSE".

In his research paper, the expert said that with LTTE's main supply and procurement lines disrupted by the Sri Lankan Navy with its 10th -- floating ware house -- ship sunk south east off Dondra Head recently, the tigers were being pushed to find new avenues of raising finances to continue their arms conflict.

In this backdrop, investment in the CSE provides a good opportunity to raise funds for the rebels to fight the government, Jayasekara said, adding this allegation had come to light during British investigations on the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO), a known LTTE supporter.

As part of moves to tighten the screws on money laundering and terrorism financing, the Sri Lankan Central Bank is considering extending the mandatory reporting requirement on financial transactions to cover banks and other financial companies including insurance corporations.

A noted terrorism expert and a former additional secretary in cabinet secretariat in the government of India, B Raman, says organised criminal mafias, terrorists and intelligence agencies seek to covertly use the stock markets for earning funds as well as causing economic instability in the target country.

"They generally use two methods for this purpose: stock market operations and stock market manipulation. Stock market operations help them to earn money and launder black money and stock market manipulation helps them to earn and launder money as well as cause economic instability," Raman told an international conference recently.

"Jayashekara during the recently concluded international Conference on combating terrorism held here demanded a probe into such transactions of the LTTE.