Treasury heist investigation widens as foreign calls to officials are examined after $2.5 million meant for Australia was diverted.
The Treasury heist investigation into the alleged misappropriation of $2.5 million, amounting to more than Rs. 75 crore, from the Department of External Resources has now entered a critical stage, raising serious questions over whether the massive financial loss was caused only by hackers or assisted by insiders.
The Ministry of Public Security and international police teams have launched a joint operation to determine whether any state officials were involved in the financial heist. The stolen funds were reportedly part of a debt installment due to Australia, making the case even more sensitive at a time when Sri Lanka is attempting to rebuild confidence in its foreign debt repayment process.
Deputy Minister of Public Security Sunil Watagala has revealed that investigators are now examining foreign calls received by Treasury officials on their personal mobile phones during the suspicious period. This development has added a new layer of tension to the inquiry, as authorities attempt to establish whether those calls were linked to the diversion of the funds.
Since the money was connected to a debt payment owed to Australia, the Australian Federal Police is assisting the probe. Their role includes helping verify the status and identity of the parties who contacted Treasury officials during the relevant period.
However, questions remain over whether the Treasury heist was purely a cybercrime or whether it involved internal support. Senior police officers say no firm conclusion has yet been reached on whether hackers acted alone or whether the fraud was carried out with the assistance of officials inside the system.
Preliminary investigations have found that hackers allegedly diverted the money to a third party account maintained in Dubai or Australia. This was reportedly done by changing bank account details through fraudulent email messages, a method that has raised fresh concerns over cyber security, internal verification systems, and financial controls within key state institutions.
Five officials, including an Assistant Director, have been suspended in connection with the incident. Among them was Ranga Rajapaksa, who died mysteriously recently in the Kuliyapitiya area. Police say his death has become a serious setback to the investigations, particularly as authorities continue trying to piece together the full chain of events behind the missing funds.
The loss has also created wider concern because it took place at a time when Sri Lanka is attempting to repay foreign debts in 2026. Any such financial disruption could have a negative impact on gross official reserves and damage confidence in the country’s ability to manage sensitive external financial obligations.
The Criminal Investigation Department and the Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Response Team are jointly carrying out further investigations. What happens next could be critical, as investigators now face the task of determining whether this was a sophisticated external cyberattack, a failure of internal safeguards, or something far more troubling involving officials within the system.
