"The Minister lied. I did not change my name" Arjuna Mahendran says

Arjuna Mahendran, who is wanted in legal proceedings related to the Central Bank Treasury Bonds incident, has revealed in a letter that the statement made by Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala that he has legally changed his name to "Harjan Alexander" is completely false.

Former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran has made this known in a letter to an online newspaper published in Sri Lanka.

He is said to have stated that he would like to inform readers of the media in Sri Lanka that the statement made by a government minister that he has legally changed his name is completely false.

 The letter, addressed to a Singaporean address, is signed by ‘Lakshman Arjuna Mahendran’.

The letter was sent after Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala said that he had received information that the former Central Bank Governor had changed his name to “Harjan Alexander”.

The minister had said that the Criminal Investigation Department had received information regarding the name change. Ananda Wijepala had said that the authorities were exploring alternative legal avenues to bring Mahendran back to Sri Lanka due to the obstacles to his extradition from Singapore.

Arjuna Mahendran’s latest statement directly challenges the government’s claim about his identity.  A dispute has currently arisen between Mahendran and the Sri Lankan authorities regarding whether or not a legal name change has taken place.