Sri Lanka foreign minister resigns

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka foreign minister Ravi Karunanayake resigned Thursday saying he was innocent of chargers levelled against him over allegations connected to receiving money for an apartment from a bond dealer.

Karunanayake said he was innocent but was resigning to stop de-stabilizing the government.

He resigned ahead of a no confidence vote requested by the a group of opposition legislators.

A witness at a presidential commission of inquiry probing a bond scam said the rent of Karunanayake’s apartment was paid by Perpetual Treasuries, a bond dealer that has been suspended by the central bank over alleged frauds.