Colombo – Veteran capital-markets executive Tushan Wickramasinghe is reportedly exploring the possibility of acquiring Richard Pieris Securities (Pvt.) Ltd., according to market sources, in a potential transaction that could reshape one of Sri Lanka’s established stockbroking operations.
The reported interest comes at a critical point for Richard Pieris Securities. The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) has announced that the broker will be suspended from carrying out all trading activities from 14 August 2026 until further notice, citing failure to comply with provisions relating to Key Management Persons (KMPs) under the CSE Trading Participant Rules.
A brokerage at a critical juncture
Richard Pieris Securities is part of the wider Richard Pieris group and is a recognised participant in Sri Lanka’s capital market. The present CSE action prevents the brokerage from conducting trading activities until the regulatory issue is resolved.
The suspension is specifically connected to the firm’s failure to meet requirements concerning KMPs. It is important to distinguish this from allegations of financial fraud: the CSE announcement does not state that Richard Pieris Securities was suspended for fraud or market manipulation.
For a prospective buyer, however, the suspension creates both a regulatory challenge and potentially an opportunity to acquire an established brokerage platform at a point when its future ownership and management may be under consideration.
Why Wickramasinghe is interested
Wickramasinghe is a longstanding figure in Sri Lanka’s stockbroking industry and is currently Chairman/CEO of Capital TRUST Holdings and Managing Director/CEO of Capital TRUST Securities.
His Capital TRUST business has historically had a substantial presence in stockbroking. In 2010, Capital TRUST Securities ranked first in CSE turnover, brokerage fees and number of transactions, according to figures reported at the time.
A Richard Pieris Securities acquisition could therefore potentially give Wickramasinghe access to another established brokerage platform, subject to regulatory approvals, compliance requirements and the terms of any eventual transaction.
Wickramasinghe’s own regulatory record
Any assessment of a potential Wickramasinghe acquisition should also take into account his own regulatory history.
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) records that on 10 June 2024 it imposed an administrative penalty of Rs.1 million on Tushan Wickramasinghe.
According to the SEC, the penalty related to the provision of untrue and incorrect information in an affidavit submitted to the SEC’s Supervision Division in his capacity as a Key Management Person in connection with renewal of the Capital Trust Securities stockbroker licence. The SEC imposed the penalty under Section 178(1)(ii) of the SEC Act after considering his response to a Show Cause Notice.
Capital Trust Securities itself was also fined Rs.500,000 in September 2022. The SEC said the penalty related to a contravention of Section 112(1) of the SEC Act and directed the broker to comply with practices applicable to a licensed stockbroker. The case involved recommendations to clients concerning Softlogic Life Insurance shares which, according to the SEC, were made without a basis and caused a negative impact on the share price.
The Yaddehige factor
The possible transaction also brings the record of Dr. Sena Yaddehige, the chairman of the Richard Pieris Group, back into focus.
Yaddehige has been involved in a long-running SEC case concerning alleged insider dealing in Kegalle Plantations PLCshares.
According to the SEC, legal action was instituted in the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court in 2019 against Yaddehige and Subramanium Thinamany. The allegation against Yaddehige concerns insider dealing relating to trading in Kegalle Plantations shares, while Thinamany was charged with aiding and abetting. The SEC’s current criminal-prosecution register states that the case remains pending before court.
The SEC’s original 2019 media release said the alleged transactions occurred while Yaddehige was chairman of Kegalle Plantations and before the company declared a Rs.45 dividend on 10 July 2015.
A separate 2024 criminal-law controversy
Yaddehige was also the subject of a separate and serious police investigation in 2024.
According to Sri Lanka Mirror and Daily Mirror, Kollupitiya Police obtained a travel ban against Yaddehigefollowing a complaint by a 39-year-old woman who alleged that she had been sexually abused by him at a hotel in Kollupitiya on 7 May 2024. The woman was reported to be a business analyst associated with the Richard Pieris Group.
The matter was taken before the Fort Magistrate, and the travel restriction was obtained while police investigated the complaint. Subsequent reporting stated that police intended to arrest Yaddehige upon his return to Sri Lanka.
