80 million rupees fell into the hands of hackers during a payment made by SriLankan Airlines to Dubai.

It is reported that another erroneous transaction has occurred involving over 80 million Sri Lankan Rupees owed to a SriLankan Airlines service provider in Dubai, following two recent cyber thefts that shocked the Sri Lankan government.

This payment, made in UAE Dirhams, amounts to over 80 million Sri Lankan Rupees. Opposition Member of Parliament Dayasiri Jayasekara expressed deep concern over this incident in a post on the 'X' social media network, stating that an amount of 97,450 Dirhams has been credited to another account and urged the government to conduct an immediate investigation into the matter.

Minister of Ports, Civil Aviation, and Energy, Aruna Karunatilake, confirmed this erroneous transaction, stating that the issue arose in connection with the national airline's Dubai operations and that an internal investigation has already been initiated. He further added that a detailed statement on this matter will be issued in the future. Meanwhile, Deputy Minister Janitha Kodithuwakku pointed out that an investigation is underway as it is suspected that the recipient's email address was hacked by cybercriminals.

The Deputy Minister emphasized that this is not a loss to the Sri Lankan side, stating that according to Sri Lanka, it is recorded as a completed transaction, and it appears that the funds were diverted due to unauthorized access to the recipient's email. However, authorities are also conducting an internal investigation into this.

Previously, Sri Lanka also lost USD 2.5 million paid to Australia as part of debt repayments and USD 625,000 paid by the Postal Department to the United States Postal Service (USPS). The Sri Lankan authorities are already receiving assistance from the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the American Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for the investigations into these incidents.