Opposition MP Harsha de Silva has raised serious concerns over the alleged disappearance of USD 2.5 million in public funds, warning that Sri Lanka may have risked defaulting on its debt obligations if the intended creditor did not receive the payments.

In a statement, he described the incident as more than simple negligence, calling it a systemic failure that had been repeatedly highlighted in the past.

De Silva noted that concerns were previously raised at the Committee on Public Finance when responsibility for sovereign debt operations was transferred from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka to the Treasury’s Public Debt Management Office.

He said the committee had urged authorities to recruit experienced and qualified professionals, emphasizing that managing sovereign debt in global financial markets requires specialized expertise.

According to him, those warnings were ignored, and he questioned whether Sri Lanka had technically defaulted, alleging that the creditor country may not have received multiple debt payments.

The MP also criticized the Ministry of Finance for failing to appear before the committee on several occasions, despite ongoing discussions on key economic matters.

He stressed that Parliament holds constitutional responsibility over public finance and revealed that he has written to the Treasury Secretary seeking an explanation regarding the incident and the silence of both the Finance Ministry and the Central Bank.

Calling for accountability, de Silva said the issue should not be politicized and urged immediate action to restore public confidence.

The controversy comes amid reports of a possible diversion of funds during a foreign debt repayment, with authorities earlier confirming that cyber attackers had gained unauthorized access to a government system linked to external financial transactions.