Cyber criminals hacked into the computer system of Sri Lanka’s finance ministry and siphoned off $2.5 million, marking the largest theft from a state institution in the crisis-hit country, officials said Thursday.
The stolen funds were intended for a debt repayment to Australia, according to Harshana Suriyapperuma, who briefed reporters in Colombo.
Authorities detected an attempted breach of the ministry’s email server, and subsequent investigations revealed that the payment had been diverted. Four senior officials from the Public Debt Management Office were suspended following the incident.
“Criminal investigators are looking into this and we are not in a position to give further details,” Suriyapperuma said, adding that assistance from foreign law enforcement agencies has been sought.
The cyber attack deals a setback to Sri Lanka, which is still recovering from a severe economic crisis that culminated in a sovereign default in 2022 on about $46 billion in external debt.
The Public Debt Management Office was established earlier this year as part of reforms linked to a $2.9 billion bailout programme supported by the International Monetary Fund.
Meanwhile, Matthew Duckworth said Australia was aware of “irregularities” in payments owed to it.
Source: Dawn
Bd-pratidin English/ Jisan
