• Sajith highlights weaknesses in financial management system
•  Namal notes jnr officials shouldn’t be made ‘sacrificial lambs’ 

Sri Lanka’s Finance Ministry is investigating irregularities in payments owed to the Australian Government, the Australian High Commission in Colombo said, noting that Sri Lankan authorities are coordinating with Australian counterparts, who are assisting the probe. The High Commission added that Australia remains committed to supporting Sri Lanka’s efforts to restore debt sustainability.

The Ministry said it has lodged complaints with law enforcement agencies over alleged cyber theft involving a breach of the External Resources Department’s computer system. Following the detection of suspicious information linked to a foreign currency payment in January, the Computer Emergency Readiness Team and the Police Computer Crime Investigation Division were alerted. Subsequent complaints were filed with the Criminal Investigation Department and the Central Bank’s Financial Intelligence Unit.

An internal inquiry has also been conducted, with disciplinary action initiated against several officials. The Ministry said it is cooperating fully with ongoing investigations and has provided all required information to relevant agencies. It added that updates will be shared at an appropriate time so as not to interfere with the probes, and that future steps will follow existing agreements with foreign jurisdictions.

The developments follow claims that around US$ 2.5 million may have been diverted through fraudulent instructions, allegedly as part of a debt-related transaction linked to a US$ 22.9 million loan. Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa raised the issue in Parliament on Wednesday (22), saying the funds had “disappeared” from State accounts.

He said the incident exposed serious weaknesses in financial oversight and questioned the capacity of key institutions, including the Finance Ministry, the Treasury, and the Central Bank, to manage State funds effectively. Premadasa warned that if payments could be rerouted through falsified instructions, it posed risks not only to financial stability but also to national security. He called for a transparent investigation and full disclosure of findings.

Opposition MP Namal Rajapaksa also raised concerns, describing the alleged loss as a serious breakdown in oversight and internal controls within the Treasury. Writing on social media platform X, he said junior officials should not be made “sacrificial lambs” for systemic failures and argued that responsibility lies with those who designed and approved the processes.

He questioned how fraudulent email instructions could bypass verification systems, why safeguards failed, and how the Central Bank’s oversight role was compromised in high-value transactions. He also sought clarity on who approved procedures that left public funds vulnerable.

Meanwhile, Cabinet Spokesperson Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa said at the weekly Cabinet media briefing that President’s Counsel Maithri Gunaratne had written to the Speaker requesting an investigation. He said the Speaker would decide whether a special parliamentary committee should be appointed.

Dr. Jayatissa added that the Government has not yet received official confirmation of the alleged incident, and that current claims are based only on the letter submitted. He said the Finance Ministry is expected to provide a detailed explanation shortly.

“The Ministry will provide an explanation. We have not received official information yet. This is based only on the letter,” he said, adding that any parliamentary inquiry would be decided by the Speaker after reviewing the facts.