Let’s Shield the EPF With the Instincts of Winston Churchill

Abstract

The private sector workers of Sri Lanka are required by law to transfer 23% of their incomes to the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) and the Employees’ Trust Fund (ETF) every month, towards their retirement savings. The EPF is managed by a special division within the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), and the Monetary Board of CBSL is tasked with overall stewardship of the Fund. Forensic audits were commissioned by the Central Bank to look into the abuse of bond transactions, as well as the EPF funds. These audits were limited to transactions that occurred prior to March 2015. Information that came to light during parliamentary hearings revealed specific transactions where the EPF was part of the nexus of ongoing “bond-scandals” in the period not covered by the forensic audit. Report number 3 of the Forensic Audits on the Central Bank, published in 2019, exposed large losses to the EPF caused by the collective irresponsibility and corruption within the CBSL. I am not aware of any prosecutions that have been initiated to date in this regard.