Golden Key Credit Card Company

The Golden Key Credit Card Company (GKCCC) was a leading Sri Lankan financial institution specializing in credit card services, and a subsidiary of the Ceylinco Consolidated.^[2] Founded on June 3, 1977, it was a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Ceylinco Group, an extensive conglomerate with more than 300 subsidiaries. GKCCC played a pioneering role in establishing the credit card industry in Sri Lanka in the early 1980s. Notably, it was responsible for setting up the initial Merchant Network utilized by all credit card companies in the country.^[3][4][5]

However, in 2008 it was revealed that the Chairman (Lalith Kotelawala^[6][7][8] ) and Board of Directors^[9] had engaged in a lengthy embezzlement scheme, spanning from 1999 to 2008. The embezzled sum amounted to a staggering Rs. 26.5 billion, approximately US$200 million, from 9,054 depositors. Consequently, these actions led to the indictment of the chairman and Directors on 91 charges, including criminal misappropriation and breach of trust.

This financial scandal had far-reaching consequences, impacting Sri Lanka's financial sector and leading to substantial regulatory reforms and increased scrutiny of the industry as a whole. This led to a severe liquidity crisis in the final weeks of 2008. The GKCCC scandal and its repercussions had a profound impact on Sri Lanka's financial sector, resulting in significant regulatory reforms and heightened industry oversight.^{[10][11][12][13]}