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SriLankan Airlines detects double financial fraud in Dubai, Chennai
Saturday May 16, 2026 6:39 pm ECONOMYNEXT – State-owned carrier SriLankan Airlines has been hit by two financial frauds in the United Arab Emirates and South India due to hacking of an agent’s email and forgery of documents, two sources and the Deputy Finance Minister said. The loss-making airline had remitted US$265,000 (954,000 UAE Dirham or around Rs.80 million) to a wrong account after receiving instructions via official email from an agent with its Dubai office to deposit the money in a different bank account, a source aware of the inquiry told EconomyNext. “The agent’s email was hacked and the hacker has used the agent’s email to ask SriLankan to deposit the money into a different account,” the source said. The second financial fraud was detected in the SriLankan office in Chennai, where three Indian nationals who had worked in the South Indian office swindled money worth 22,000 Indian rupees (around Rs. 80 million) using forged documents. “Now, the Indian police are probing this,” a second source said. The island nation has detected a number of similar financial frauds in the recent past including a US$2.5 million fraud from the Treasury through hacking and US$625,000 from the Postal Department. Deputy Finance Minister Anil Jayantha said probes are underway into both frauds. “If there is any leakage or any issue under our government everything will be investigated, the information will be provided and we will address this quickly,” Minister Jayantha told reporters when asked about the frauds. !The Dubai agent has sent information to Sri Lankan Airlines stating that the problem is with our system. However, they are investigating. We’ll see what has really happened,” he said. “Of course, that much money was paid by Sri Lankan Airline, not to the agent, but to someone else.” He said some “Indian Nationals” working in Chennai SriLnkan office Station as employees have forged some documents and “taken some money out”. “Both is investigated separately. First one is clearly connected to the agent, but the second one is in a way, we can say that the fraud was done by an employee.” (Colombo/May 16/2026) Saturday May 16, 2026 2:48 pm Saturday May 16, 2026 2:48 pm ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka has imposed a temporary 50 percent surcharge on Customs Import Duty on new personal vehicles for three months effective May 16, aiming to restrict imports and reduce the depreciation of the rupee currency, Deputy Finance Minister Anil Jayantha said. With the new surcharge, ...
Focus on SriLankan Airlines payment errors amid calls for probe
Share By The Pulseline News Desk Allegations of financial transaction irregularities involving SriLankan Airlines have prompted renewed scrutiny and calls for an official investigation, after claims have emerged regarding misdirected overseas payments and a separate confirmed transfer error. Opposition member of parliament (MP) Dayasiri Jayasekara has urged the government to investigate a reported incident in which funds intended for SriLankan Airlines’ overseas operations were allegedly transferred to an incorrect bank account. Raising the matter, he has noted that payments meant for the airline’s Chennai branch and Dubai-based agent operations were mistakenly deposited into an account at an Abu Dhabi bank due to an administrative error. He has further alleged that more than Rs. 80 million was subsequently moved to another bank account, raising concerns over the traceability and recovery of the funds. Jayasekara has called on authorities to verify the facts and conduct a comprehensive probe into the incident. Meanwhile, Ports, Civil Aviation and Energy Minister Aruna Karunathilleke has confirmed a separate payment-related error within the airline’s financial transactions. The Minister has stated that an incorrect transfer of 74,000 UAE dirhams had been made to a SriLankan Airlines service provider earlier this year. He has noted that the erroneous transaction had occurred in February and said investigations are currently underway to determine how the mistake happened and whether any procedural lapses contributed to it. The developments have raised fresh questions over financial oversight and internal controls at the national carrier, with both political representatives and government officials acknowledging ongoing inquiries into the reported incidents.
Wrong bank transfer costs SriLankan Airlines millions
A financial irregularity exceeding Rs. 85 million occurred during a payment process at SriLankan Airlines, according to Member of Parliament Dayasiri Jayasekara. The Chennai branch mistakenly ...
Dayasiri urges probe into alleged SriLankan Airlines transaction error
Opposition MP Dayasiri Jayasekara has urged the government to investigate a reported financial transaction involving SriLankan Airlines, alleging that a payment meant for Dubai-related agent operations may have been mistakenly transferred to a wrong bank account According to claims raised by the MP, funds reportedly intended for payments linked to the airline's Chennai branch and Dubai ...
