$2.5 Million Foreign Payment Incident Under Investigation: Possible Impersonation Scam Suspected

COLOMBO (News 1st) - Deputy Minister of Digital Economy Eranga Weeraratne says suspicions have emerged over whether internal support within the institution may have played a role in a case where 2.5 million US dollars, paid as a foreign debt installment, ended up being transferred to a third party.

He noted that a significant amount of information has already been uncovered in the ongoing investigation into the incident.

According to the Deputy Minister, preliminary findings suggest that rather than a direct cyberattack on the system, a third party may have created a domain name and email address closely resembling that of an international company.

He explained that officials were misled after the perpetrators impersonated individuals associated with the company, making the fraudulent communication appear legitimate.

However, he added that at this stage, investigators do not believe the incident necessarily involved direct internal participation, but rather a failure to identify subtle differences in communication that enabled the deception.

Weeraratne further stated that investigations are still ongoing, and once completed, authorities will be able to clearly determine who was involved, how the incident occurred, and over what period it took place.

He said a comprehensive report will be issued once the inquiry is finalized.