Has $2.5 million gone missing from the treasury?

Cabinet Spokesperson, Minister Nalinda Jayatissa, stated that the Ministry of Finance will soon issue a clarification regarding reports that a sum of 2.5 million US dollars belonging to the Treasury has been credited to a computer hacker's account. The Minister revealed this today (22) at the media briefing to announce Cabinet decisions, in response to a question raised by a journalist.

Journalists here raised concerns that the 2.5 million US dollars released by the Treasury as a step to settle a 22.9 million US dollar loan owed to a foreign country has thus fallen into the hands of a hacker. This payment was made as an installment of the said loan, which was due to be settled in September 2025, and opposition MPs had recently questioned that it had not yet been received by the intended creditor state. Additionally, journalists questioned the Minister about circulating rumors that several Treasury officials have been suspended following this controversial incident.

Responding to those issues, Minister Nalinda Jayatissa further emphasized that President's Counsel Maithri Gunaratne has sent a letter to the Speaker regarding this matter. He pointed out that based on that letter, the Speaker will make a future decision on whether or not to investigate the incident at a parliamentary level. However, the Cabinet Spokesperson further stated that apart from the said letter, he currently does not possess any other detailed information related to this incident.