Hacker government allegations deepen as Namal Rajapaksa claims state payment systems, ports, banks and finance platforms were breached.
Hacker government allegations were raised by Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna National Organizer and MP Namal Rajapaksa, who claimed the current administration had allowed hackers to penetrate key state financial systems.
Rajapaksa said the government’s main financial payment systems had been affected, especially in relation to how public funds are placed and how payments are made. He alleged that hackers had even entered the debt repayment system of the Ministry of Finance.
As a result, he claimed that more than Rs. 80 crore had gone missing. Given the current value of the dollar, Rajapaksa warned that this loss could increase further.
He also alleged that hackers entering the private banking system had caused Rs. 13 billion to disappear.
The MP said revelations at institutional level showed that hackers had now affected the operations of several key government institutions. He claimed hackers had infiltrated coal transactions as well as the systems of the Postal Department.
He further said that due to hackers entering the port system, around 323 containers had been removed.
Rajapaksa then made a serious allegation that, under the government’s new policy, preparations were being made to appoint one hacker officer to every Divisional Secretariat office.
He said the government’s old “pickpocket” theory had now been modernized into a “hacker theory,” and warned that the burden of all financial losses caused through this system would finally fall on the people of the country.
Although the President had been informed of the situation since January, Rajapaksa said it was troubling that no proper action had been taken.
“Whatever the JVP’s policy may be, the era of reviving separatism or dividing and ruling this country is over. Therefore, there is no room for terrorism or separatism to raise their heads again in this country,” Rajapaksa said.
He said that when various people make different statements on political platforms, some politicians in government feel compelled to respond with childish remarks that even Arjuna would not think of.
“So a childish statement has been answered with a childish statement,” he said.
Rajapaksa said that neither directly nor indirectly, and for any reason, can the Chief Minister of an Indian state make decisions concerning Sri Lanka. Similarly, he said India cannot make a decision on Katchatheevu, whether directly or indirectly.
“They do not have a need either. I have expressed my views on this in both Sri Lankan and Indian media,” he said.
He said the government must respond clearly to the matter.
Rajapaksa then returned to the financial allegations, saying the President, as Minister of Finance, had reportedly been informed about the issue in January.
“But the question remains why the President did not take any action even after being informed in January,” he said.
He further said the Finance Secretary is a political appointee who had represented the government’s political platform and had also represented Parliament through the national list.
“So a person who represented Parliament went on to become the Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, and according to the actions of the person who appointed him as Secretary, over Rs. 80 crore, the value of which could increase further if the dollar goes up, has gone missing. Yet the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank slept,” Rajapaksa said.
He claimed the situation now showed that the country had become governed by hackers.
“A hacker broke into the coal deal too, making it substandard. A hacker broke into a private bank, causing Rs. 13 billion to go missing. Now a hacker has broken into the debt repayment system of the Ministry of Finance, causing Rs. 80 crore to go missing. A hacker broke into the Postal Department too. Why, a hacker has taken away those 323 containers from the port,” he said.
Rajapaksa alleged that the government’s new policy was to appoint one hacker officer per Divisional Secretariat office from the party.
“So, the government’s pickpocket policy has now been transformed into a hacker policy. But ultimately, all these losses have to be paid by the people of this country,” he said.
He said government MPs would engage in political grandstanding in Parliament and later leave politics and go home. However, he said the state machinery, including the police, armed forces, intelligence services, ports, airports, Customs, the Ministry of Finance, and the Central Bank, had a responsibility to move forward while protecting both official dignity and political authority.
Rajapaksa said distrust and suspicion had clearly developed in society over these incidents.
“But those who speak out about it are being summoned to give statements. Now we have seen that opposition members have also been summoned to give statements regarding this,” he said.
He warned that, in the future, those who ask questions, including journalists, may also be asked to give statements and explain how they came to know the question.
“The government is clearly trying to practice politics through repression. So the government must remember that this is not 1988–89. Back then, there was no Facebook, no media. They could get away with such things by telling lies. But today it is not possible,” he said.
Rajapaksa said the government is not responding clearly. He claimed that this is why government figures spoke about other people’s cases on their May Day stage.
“If a political party representing the working people speaks on its own stage, it should talk about the worker. It should talk about the plantation worker’s problems, how many there are, and how they will be solved. It should show that they have an understanding,” he said.
Instead, he said, they speak about putting others in jail.
“No matter how helpless the farmer, the fisherman, the worker becomes, it does not matter. Someone said they will not give power. They said they will not give power. They said let’s see who tries to take it. So we must also say, if they cannot responsibly carry forward the people’s way of life successfully, then we will also wait and see,” he said.
Rajapaksa said the government came to power claiming it would run trains at 1,000 kilometres per hour, but had now reduced the number of trains to twenty.
He said the railway system of the country needs modernization and investment, along with a new work programme.
“Finally, after the British, it was Mahinda Rajapaksa who worked to modernize this railway system. Since then, the government that has come to power cannot even rebuild the railway line damaged by the Cyclone Ditwa floods or anything else,” he said.
Rajapaksa said the country needs a sustainable plan for the railway system, adding that solutions would not be found through political grandstanding, lies, and repression.
“You can plaster and move forward, but for how long can you keep plastering?” he asked.
He then criticized the Minister of Justice, saying that while the President is a politician, the Justice Minister had worked in the Attorney General’s Department and appeared in court as a lawyer.
“If even such a person acts like that, it is shameful, isn’t it?” he asked.
Rajapaksa said the Minister of Justice had the opportunity to advise the President and Cabinet ministers that it was wrong to discuss ongoing court cases on a political platform or attempt to politicize them.
“At least, let us say we saw a court verdict, he could have advised them not to say that. So the Minister of Justice, being a lawyer, should be more ashamed than the President,” he said.
He also claimed that the government had tried to pin the Airbus deal on the Rajapaksas by forcibly recording a statement.
“Now they are asking former President Mahinda Rajapaksa to come and give a statement based on that forcibly recorded, threatened, and coerced statement. He has given an affidavit. But now it is being revealed who the hacker that broke into the Airbus is. Now it turns out that the hacker who broke into the Airbus also came from Pelawatte,” Rajapaksa said.
He said substandard coal did not come to Sri Lanka because of a war.
“If Sri Lanka has become the only country in the world that spent $286 per barrel to buy oil at the highest bid, and if not even our neighbouring country spent that much, there is no point blaming the war,” he said.
Rajapaksa said the 323 containers did not jump out of the port because of a war. He said an old aircraft was not brought for the Airbus at a higher price because of a war.
“A hacker did not break into the Ministry of Finance because of a war. They did not send $600,000 from the Postal Department to the wrong account because of a war. The Road Development Authority did not send money to the wrong account because of a war. So these stories are fine for pleasing the staff at your party office,” he said.
He said that during the Yahapalana government, a younger sister came hoping to get a small car. Under the JVP government, he said, a younger brother came hoping to get a Japanese bike.
“At the very least, we will create a plan for the future, a methodology through which we can actually make that a reality,” he said.
Rajapaksa said complaints had now even been made to the European Union about the government’s alleged frauds.
“This government has become so corrupt that they are complaining to the European Union. That is why the pickpocket theory, which was a village story, has now become the hacker theory,” he said.
