A report submitted to Parliament by the Committee on Public Finances (COPF) has revealed that inconsistencies among institutions and officials involved in confirming payments and balances of foreign debts contributed to the alleged theft of USD 2.5 million.

The report stated that the External Resources Department continues to play a significant role in debt-related functions despite the Public Debt Management Office being assigned responsibility for debt servicing and reporting under the Public Debt Management Act.

The report further noted that officials of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) could not avoid responsibility for the incident. It pointed out that until January 2026, the CBSL’s Public Debt Department had continued supporting the functions of the Public Debt Management Office and, as the manager of the country’s foreign reserves, should have been more vigilant regarding the use of Treasury foreign currency accounts held with the Central Bank.

COPF has recommended that the Ministry of Finance submit a comprehensive report before the end of May 2026 detailing the sequence of events, how the alleged fraudulent transaction occurred, institutional weaknesses identified, and measures taken to prevent similar incidents in the future.

The committee also requested documents relating to the delegation of financial control authority for all foreign debt repayment processes and stressed that debt management functions must be fully transferred to the Public Debt Management Office in line with the Public Debt Management Act.

In addition, the report emphasized the need for the Ministry of Finance to treat cybersecurity as a major fiscal risk and take stronger measures to prevent recurring payment irregularities and data breaches that have surfaced in recent years.