US FBI assistance to investigate 2.5 million dollar cyber theft

Investigations into the disappearance of USD 2.5 million through unauthorized access to email accounts at the Sri Lanka Treasury have been expanded, and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has sought assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the United States, a senior CID official stated.

An American cybersecurity company with expertise in identifying and preventing email hacks and phishing attacks has also been engaged. However, the location from which the fake email messages were received, the current whereabouts of the funds transferred from the Treasury to another party, and the identities behind this large-scale fraud have not yet been revealed. The official further added that the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Central Bank also has no information regarding this matter yet.

With the assistance of Australian authorities, these investigations have now become international. Although the Ministry of Finance was aware of this email hack at the Treasury in January, the first complaint to the Criminal Investigation Department was lodged on March 28 by a Director General of the Ministry of Finance. Accordingly, investigations commenced thereafter.

A senior Treasury official pointed out that there is strong suspicion that certain documents related to loan repayments to other countries have also been hacked or copied by these criminals. For this reason, clear instructions have been given to relevant department officials to thoroughly check emails and other information before making any future money transfers. In addition, detectives from the Criminal Investigation Department have taken into their custody data related to all transactions carried out at the Treasury over the past few months for investigation purposes.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance has drawn attention to a news report published last week by the "Sunday Times" newspaper regarding the disappearance of French loan documents. It reported that several documents related to the repayment of a loan obtained from France had gone missing from the Ministry of Finance's computers. However, the Ministry issued a statement declaring that the information is "untrue and misleading."

The Ministry of Finance assures that repayments are being made as scheduled according to agreements between the Sri Lankan government and the respective lending institutions, and proper communication channels have been established for this purpose. However, the Sunday Times newspaper points out that the relevant news story was based on information available at the time the Criminal Investigation Department commenced its investigations into the disappearance of USD 2.5 million from the Treasury and the loss of other documents.

The Criminal Investigation Department informed the Fort Magistrate's Court this week that a broad investigation into the disappearance of USD 2.5 million is still ongoing, and they are also looking into whether money has gone missing from other payments. The Magistrate has authorized the appointment of an expert committee, representing all relevant institutions, to conduct a comprehensive investigation into this cyber robbery at the Treasury.