The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has sought assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to expand its investigation into a cyber fraud that resulted in the loss of US$2.5 million from Sri Lanka’s national Treasury, a senior officer told the media .
Officials said discussions were held with a team from the United States Embassy in Sri Lanka in Colombo to secure FBI support, with the aim of using international expertise to trace the origin of a sophisticated email hacking and phishing operation that compromised state financial systems.
The breach, which targeted the Department of External Resources (ERD), involved unauthorized access to official email accounts, allowing hackers to intercept and redirect funds intended for a $22.9 million bilateral debt repayment to Australia.
Despite ongoing efforts, the whereabouts of the stolen funds and the identities of those responsible remain unknown.
The Financial Intelligence Unit of Sri Lanka (FIU) is working with the CID to trace the financial trail, while Australian authorities are also assisting in the investigation.
Meanwhile, Minister Nalinda Jayatissa stated that a comprehensive multi-agency investigation is underway into the cyber fraud that compromised the Treasury.
Speaking at the “Ratama Ekata” national operation at the Kalutara District Secretariat, he added that the Ministry of Finance Sri Lanka is also conducting an internal audit to determine whether any officials were involved or whether the incident resulted from systemic weaknesses.
