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Distribution of Fraudulent Transactions
Timeline of fraudulent transactions based on institutional oversight period.
Primary Sources
Ravi K wants Parliamentary Select Committee to probe $ 2.5 m cyber heist
The phishing and impersonation scam probe in the Sri Lanka Treasury for a sum of $ 2.5 million has now moved into its final phase following fresh discoveries regarding the role of the Central Bank in the process of paying back debts owed to Australian Agency, both past and present during the recent transition to the Finance Ministry. Former Finance Minister and Member of Parliament Ravi Karunanayake has made a clarion call that a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) be formed to examine the theft of $ 2.5 million in debt funds belonging to the state. He stated explicitly that a full-blown investigation was essential in ensuring international respectability and the accountability of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka for failing to ensure the security of state funds as the independent fiscal monitoring authority. “The Central Bank cannot wash its hands by pointing at the Treasury’s new Public Debt Management Office (PDMO),” he said adding that the siphoning of funds intended for the Australian Export Finance Agency was not a localised Treasury error but a systemic failure involving the CBSL. “The facts show that out of the ten fraudulent transactions identified, seven occurred while the Central Bank still held the reins,” Karunanayake stated. “Those seven were executed under the CBSL’s Public Debt Department in late 2025, while only three occurred after the 1 January 2026, handover to the Treasury,” he claimed. The heist was executed via a Business Email Compromise (BEC). Hackers used a fake domain (exportfinance.av.com) to impersonate Australian officials. Despite the CBSL’s role in training PDMO staff and overseeing the IT transition, basic verification protocols were ignored. The Director of the CBSL’s Payments and Settlements Department has been appointed as the Registrar of Government Securities to oversee the accuracy of the securities registry while the PDMO handles issuance. Systemic failure of oversight: As the primary operator of the LankaSecure and Scripless Securities Settlement System (SSSS), the CBSL remained the technical custodian during the transition, he disclosed. The probe has already seen the tragic death of an interdicted Assistant Director from the External Resources Department (ERD), whose death in Kuliyapitiya was ruled a likely suicide following intense CID questioning. Karunanayake argued that the Government’s reputation with international creditors and the IMF hinges on a full accounting of how $ 2.5 million was siphoned off in five d...
Treasury Heist Probe Deepens As Officials' Calls Checked -
Treasury heist investigation widens as foreign calls to officials are examined after $2.5 million meant for Australia was diverted. The Treasury heist investigation into the alleged misappropriation of $2.5 million, amounting to more than Rs. 75 crore, from the Department of External Resources has now entered a critical stage, raising serious questions over whether the massive financial loss was caused only by hackers or assisted by insiders. The Ministry of Public Security and international police teams have launched a joint operation to determine whether any state officials were involved in the financial heist. The stolen funds were reportedly part of a debt installment due to Australia, making the case even more sensitive at a time when Sri Lanka is attempting to rebuild confidence in its foreign debt repayment process. Follow The Morning Telegraph WhatsApp Channel Get breaking updates, instant alerts, and exclusives. Join Now Deputy Minister of Public Security Sunil Watagala has revealed that investigators are now examining foreign calls received by Treasury officials on their personal mobile phones during the suspicious period. This development has added a new layer of tension to the inquiry, as authorities attempt to establish whether those calls were linked to the diversion of the funds. Since the money was connected to a debt payment owed to Australia, the Australian Federal Police is assisting the probe. Their role includes helping verify the status and identity of the parties who contacted Treasury officials during the relevant period. However, questions remain over whether the Treasury heist was purely a cybercrime or whether it involved internal support. Senior police officers say no firm conclusion has yet been reached on whether hackers acted alone or whether the fraud was carried out with the assistance of officials inside the system. Preliminary investigations have found that hackers allegedly diverted the money to a third party account maintained in Dubai or Australia. This was reportedly done by changing bank account details through fraudulent email messages, a method that has raised fresh concerns over cyber security, internal verification systems, and financial controls within key state institutions. Five officials, including an Assistant Director, have been suspended in connection with the incident. Among them was Ranga Rajapaksa, who died mysteriously recently in the Kuliyapitiya area. Police say his death has become a serious...
Treasury Chief skips COPF hearing on $ 2.5 million cyber theft probe
Treasury Secretary Harshana Suriyapperuma has declined to appear before Parliament's Committee on Public Finance (COPF) today (30), citing his inability to attend a session convened to probe a controversial cyber theft of $ 2.5 million - an incident that has raised fresh concerns about financial oversight and digital security within Sri ...
Finance Ministry official, interdicted over missing USD 2.5 million ...
Finance Ministry official, interdicted over missing USD 2.5 million, takes own life. Most visited website in Sri Lanka.