Board of Investment (BOI) Chairman Upul Jayasuriya resigned on Thursday. He said the reasons for his resignation were personal. “It was my own decision. I would like to thank the State Minister, the Prime Minister, and the president for having supported me in discharging my duties these past two years. I stand by my decisions, taken honestly and in keeping with the dignity of the post, though some were difficult.”
Mr.Jayasuriya’s resignation comes in the wake of a Daily News exposé on questions surrounding the controversial agreement between the BOI and Al Aman World Capital Centre. In it, the Daily News revealed that Al Aman had either been dishonest or presented conflicting narratives about its supposed height, supposed amenities, supposed location, and supposed architect, among other things.
When questioned by the Daily News following the tendering of his resignation to President Maithripala Sirisena as to whether or not the story published had impacted his decision to step down, Mr. Jayasuriya replied in the negative.
“If the media is going to run things like this on potential investors, that will deter them. Many of them have called me and told me this. It has impacted them, not me,” he said.
Upul Jayasuriya is a President’s Counsel and former Chairman of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka. He was appointed Chairman of the BOI in February 2015.