Treasury heist allegations deepen as Free Lawyers accuse Finance Ministry of hiding the US$ 2.5 million diversion from Parliament.
The Treasury heist involving US$ 2.5 million has triggered fresh accusations, with Free Lawyers alleging that the Ministry of Finance is attempting to conceal the scandal from Parliament and the public.
The Free Lawyers organization has stated that the Ministry of Finance is engaged in what it described as a disgraceful attempt to hide and erase from history the theft of US$ 2,509,430 from the Treasury, after the money allegedly fell into the hands of a third party.
Rajith Keerthi Thennakoon, Chief Executive Officer of Free Lawyers, said the Ministry of Finance had acted to hide reports that should have been submitted to the Parliamentary Committee on Public Finance from its members.
He emphasized that the report on the Treasury heist is not a “bed time reading” magazine, but a matter connected to the responsibility for public finance vested in Parliament under Article 148 of the Constitution.
Therefore, he said, the report must be submitted immediately to Parliament.
Free Lawyers also pointed out that the Ministry of Finance Annual Report 2025, titled the Final Budget Position Report – Annual Report 2025, makes no mention of what it called the most infamous heist in Sri Lankan history.
According to the organization, the report does not contain even a footnote on the US$ 2.5 million that allegedly ended up with a third party, despite it being one of the most high-profile incidents involving the Ministry of Finance in 2025.
The group accused the Ministry of Finance of taking multiple steps to conceal and avoid responsibility for the Treasury heist, which it said had destroyed public trust not only in the Ministry of Finance, but also in the country’s financial system and the Central Bank.
The National Audit Office, in its observations on the Treasury’s annual financial report, on page 11, under the section titled “Non-disclosures in the Financial Statements,” has stated that US$ 1,091,419, amounting to approximately Rs. 333 million, was paid in 2025 to a third party who was not a creditor.
It further states that another US$ 1,418,011 was paid in January 2026 to a third party who was not a creditor.
Accordingly, Free Lawyers says the exact amount it had earlier revealed — US$ 2,509,430 — had fallen into the hands of those behind the Treasury heist.
The organization further alleged that from the day the Treasury heist occurred until now, the Minister of Finance has been avoiding Parliament.
It also claimed that the Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, after holding what it called a misleading press conference, has gone into hiding.
Free Lawyers further accused the Central Bank of Sri Lanka of washing its hands of the matter, despite allegedly preparing the required documents for the transaction, making the first payment, and handing over the relevant files to the Treasury.
According to the organization, the Central Bank has attempted to limit its responsibility by saying that its role was only “sending the money to the bank account provided to us.”
Free Lawyers said no government party is accepting responsibility for the Treasury heist, while all efforts are being made to erase the matter from history.
The Parliamentary Committee on Public Finance, chaired by MP Harsha de Silva, had given what Free Lawyers described as a questionable period of one month for documents relating to the Treasury heist to be submitted.
The organization said this allowed the government and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, an independent institution, to bury the issue for more than a month.
Even after the stipulated period had passed, Free Lawyers alleged that the Ministry of Finance was still attempting to hide the relevant report from members of the COPF.
The organization reiterated that the Treasury heist report is not a “bed time reading” magazine, but a document directly connected to the responsibility for public finance assigned to Parliament under Article 148 of the Constitution.
It therefore insisted that the report must be placed before Parliament without further delay.
The allegations now place renewed pressure on the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank, and the Parliamentary Committee on Public Finance to explain how US$ 2.5 million in public funds was diverted, why the matter was not fully disclosed in official financial reporting, and who will be held responsible.
