Court Allows SL-CERT To Inspect Sri Lanka Post Over Misrouted USD Postal Payment

COLOMBO (News 1st); The Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court today (6) granted permission for the Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Response Team (Sri Lanka CERT) to carry out an on-site inspection at the Department of Posts as part of an ongoing investigation into a disputed foreign currency transaction.

The order relates to an inquiry into an alleged incident in which a payment of USD 626,555 made by the Postal Department to the United States Postal Service was reportedly credited to a third party.

The progress of the investigation was reported to Fort Magistrate Pasan Amaraseena today by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

Presenting facts before court, the CID stated that under global postal transaction procedures, official email accounts for such dealings are provided through the Universal Postal Union.

However, investigators informed court that the disputed payments had been made via an email account outside this established framework.

The CID further told court that the funds in question had been transferred on two separate occasions through this external email account.

Noting that further investigations are continuing, CID officers requested court approval to allow Sri Lanka CERT to conduct an on-site inspection at the Postal Department in connection with the suspected irregularities.

After considering the submissions, the Magistrate granted permission for the inspection to proceed.