Deputy Minister of Finance Dr Anil Jayantha says complaints have been filed with law enforcement agencies following a cyber theft incident involving unauthorised access to the computer system of the Department of External Resources under the Ministry of Finance.
He said the incident occurred during communication and fund settlement activities between the Australian Export Finance Agency and the Treasury, where both parties exchanged information via email. Hackers allegedly exploited this communication channel to manipulate the information exchange.
He added that the fraud came to light after a similar attempt was made to obtain additional funds linked to a payment due to India. Suspicion arose when changes were detected in account numbers. Following this, the Treasury immediately alerted the Sri Lanka Police Computer Crimes Investigation Division and the Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT).
A lengthy investigation was then carried out tracing communications back to the start of discussions on debt restructuring and repayments. This established that money intended for the Australian Export Finance Agency had been diverted into accounts controlled by the hackers. A complaint has since been filed with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), and investigations are ongoing.
An internal committee, including two deputy treasury secretaries, has also been appointed to examine possible disciplinary issues among officials involved in the transactions. Based on its recommendations, disciplinary action has already been taken against certain officials.
“It must be emphasized that taking the correct course of action is more important than making ‘media displays’. This information is highly sensitive because publicizing details could allow cybercriminals to anticipate the next steps of the investigation. Our priority at this moment is arresting the criminals and recovering the stolen funds, rather than providing unnecessary media publicity, which could indirectly assist the hackers,” he said.
“Because the information is highly sensitive, publicizing too many details could alert the cybercriminals and allow them to plan their next moves. The primary goals at this stage are arresting the criminals and recovering the stolen funds,” he added.
He further said that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, in his capacity as Minister of Finance, has instructed the Treasury to continue the investigation continuously and at pace. He added that further details will be shared in due course, once it is appropriate to do so without affecting the ongoing investigation and efforts to recover the funds. (NewsWire)