Namal questions treasury controls after US$2.5 million fraud loss

Colombo, April 22 (Daily Mirror) - The reported loss of US$2.5 million through fraudulent payment instructions is not a minor financial lapse but a serious breakdown in oversight, internal controls and institutional safeguards within the Treasury, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) National Organiser Namal Rajapaksa has said.

In a post on X, Namal said that when systems fail at the highest level, junior officials should not be made “sacrificial lambs” to shield those responsible for supervision and decision-making.

He further argued that if inexperienced officials are placed in sensitive technical positions without adequate safeguards, responsibility lies with those who designed and approved the system rather than those exposed to its weaknesses.

Raising a series of questions, Namal asked how fraudulent email instructions were able to bypass established verification protocols, and why existing safeguards proved inadequate. He also questioned how the role of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka was undermined in managing high-value transactions, and who approved a process that left public funds vulnerable to such risks.