This primary dealer has started to bleed since the year 2015 and the reported loss during the financial year 2016 was Rs. 200 million, analysts said. The company’s performance has dropped to a loss of Rs. 110 million from Rs. 513 million profit.

The company has ignored a directive of the Central Bank in late 2015 in respect of a financial misappropriation of Rs. 90 million from the custody accounts of two customers maintained with the regulator, official sources confirmed.

Under this set up NatWealth Securities has obtained an exparte interim relief to restrain the regulator, the Central Bank, from acting under the law for criminal violations of the company, employees said.

However the Court of Appeal recently revoked the interim order on the basis that the continuation of the restraining order will lead to the public losing their confidence in the government securities market.

NatWealth Securities Ltd is facing legal tangles and irregularities after the appointment of Dr. Wickrema Weerasooriya as the chairman of the Natwealth Corporation, the wholly owned subsidiary of Mahapola Trust Fund, the parent company of NatWealth Securities Limited, a primary dealer regulated by the Central Bank, employees alleged.

They noted that Dr.Weerasooriya’s plan was to bring down this company so that Mahapola assets amounting around Rs.7 billion could be moved to his family business.

A top official of the company stated that all these allegations were unfounded and the company continues to provide excellent services with integrity, professionalism, and ethics together with corporate governance.

He noted that their business operations are carried out in compliance with regulatory authorities and internal policies and procedures of the company.

The company ensures a high degree of transparency in business activities and credibility is of paramount importance, when it deals in government securities, he said.