Government Asks for Two Weeks Sri Lanka’s Gross Official Reserves are back in the headlines — and this time the questions are technical, direct, and difficult to dodge. MP Ravi Karunanayake has formally sought an urgent government statement in Parliament demanding clarity on the true composition, usability, and credibility of Sri Lanka’s reserves, along with alleged foreign exchange leakages through overseas payment gateways.
The Government has requested two weeks to respond.
HEADLINE NUMBERS — OR REAL MONEY?
Karunanayake’s core demand is simple:What is the latest Gross Official Reserves (GOR) figure — and how much of it is actually usable?He has asked the Government to disclose how much of the reserves are encumbered, tied up in swaps, pledged, or otherwise not immediately deployable for debt servicing or currency stabilisation .
Gross reserves may look strong. Net deployable reserves determine survival.
He also demands a full breakdown of:
• Monetary gold — and whether it is physical or paper exposure
• Foreign currency assets by currency and instrument
• SDR holdings
• IMF reserve position
• Foreign and domestic swaps — including cost, maturity and counterparties
This is balance-sheet scrutiny at its most granular.
WHO PROFITS FROM FX TRANSACTIONS?
In a second line of questioning, Karunanayake has asked what spread the Central Bank applies when buying or selling USD to the Government, and how much profit it has realised from such transactions over the past three financial years .
If reserves are being rebuilt, at what margin — and at whosecost?
THE FX LEAKAGE QUESTION
The intervention goes further. He asks whether the Central Bank has quantified foreign exchange and tax revenue losses resulting from Sri Lanka-based businesses routing credit card and commercial payments through overseas payment gateways .
If domestic banks are tightly regulated, why have binding circulars not been issued against non-compliant entities diverting foreign exchange outside Sri Lanka’s regulated banking system?
In an economy still recovering from a currency crisis, this is not a marginal issue. It is structural.
AUDIT OR ASSUMPTION?
Karunanayake has also asked whether the Central Bank is under continuous statutory audit by the Auditor General and whether the latest audit report — including reserve confirmations, swap verification and gold custody validation — will be tabled in Parliament .
Reserve credibility depends on transparency. Markets look beyond press releases.
TWO WEEKS FOR A RESPONSE
The Government now has two weeks to answer. The questions are not political theatre. They go to the core of monetary stability. Gross numbers are easy to announce. Net truth is harder to explain.
NewsLine will be watching.
