Sri Lanka Clarifies Treasury Payment Cyber Fraud; Confirms Hackers Intercepted Emails

COLOMBO (News 1st); Deputy Finance Minister Anil Jayantha Fernando has provided clarification on a cybercrime incident involving Sri Lanka’s debt repayment process following debt restructuring, amid what he described as the spread of misleading information in society.

Speaking on the matter, the Deputy Minister said the incident occurred during communication between the Sri Lankan Treasury and Australia’s Export Finance agency regarding debt repayments. He explained that cybercriminals, including hackers, had intercepted information exchanged during this process and fraudulently diverted funds intended for the legitimate creditor.

He said misinformation was circulating publicly, including false claims that Sri Lanka’s financial security had collapsed, that the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) had not been informed, that opposition lawmakers were kept in the dark, and that funds had been deposited into accounts linked to government allies. The Deputy Minister categorically rejected these claims, stating they were baseless and misleading.

Fernando explained that the Treasury and the Australian export finance agency had been communicating via email over the internet to facilitate debt repayment transactions. He said hackers breached this email communication system, obtained sensitive information, and used it to divert payments without the parties’ knowledge.

In addition to the payment linked to Australia, he said hackers had also attempted a similar fraud involving funds due to India. He stressed that once suspicions arose, particularly due to changes detected in bank account details, the Treasury immediately informed the Sri Lanka Police’s Computer Crimes Investigation Division and the Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team. Both institutions subsequently carried out extensive investigations.

Further investigations traced the incident back to the initial stages of communication following debt restructuring and confirmed that funds meant for the Australian export finance agency had been diverted to fraudulent accounts operated by the hackers.

Following this discovery, a formal complaint was lodged again with the Criminal Investigation Department, and investigations are currently ongoing.

The Deputy Minister also said an internal inquiry was conducted by a Treasury team that included two Deputy Treasury Secretaries. This inquiry examined the role of officials involved in the communication and transaction process to determine whether disciplinary issues had arisen. Based on the committee’s recommendations, certain disciplinary actions have already been taken.

The Deputy Minister urged the public not to be misled by false or unsubstantiated claims.

He noted that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, in his capacity as Finance Minister, has issued clear instructions to the Treasury to continue investigations swiftly and properly and to take all necessary action.