Speaker will decide on appointing Parliamentary committee: Nalinda

By Ajith Siriwardana 

Admits reports of US dollars 2.5 million paid by the treasury as a debt payment reportedly falling into the hands of a computer hacker, the government yesterday said Speaker will decide whether to appoint a committee to probe the incident after studying the letter sent by PC Maithri Gunaratne on the matter.   

Cabinet spokesman Nalinda Jayatissa told the weekly Cabinet media briefing that he is not having detailed information on the incident apart from the letter sent to the Speaker by PC Maithri Gunaratne.   

The Minister said the Ministry of Finance will clarify the facts very soon.   Questions put to the Minister by journalists and the Minister’s answers below:

Q We have received information that a payment of US$ 2.5 million, made by the Treasury to settle a portion of a US$ 22.9 million debt owed to another country between December 2025 and January 31, 2026, which has reportedly fallen into the hands of a computer hacker. It is reported that the Department of External Resources of the Ministry of Finance has now appointed an investigation committee to look into this. How did such an occurrence take place in institutions as economically vital as the Ministry of Finance and the General Treasury? Was the approval of the Secretary to the Treasury obtained to pay this money to a certain party?   

A: I believe you are speaking based on the letter submitted to the Speaker by President’s Counsel Maithri Gunaratne. The Ministry of Finance will provide a clarification regarding this. Information on this has not been reported to us yet. I have only this letter from PC Maithri Gunaratne. The Ministry of Finance will clarify the facts very soon.   

Q  By now, the Ministry of Finance has already conducted an investigation and suspended two directors, a computer operator, and another individual. Maithri Gunaratne has requested the Speaker to conduct an investigation through a special parliamentary committee. What is the government’s response to this request?   

The Speaker will make a decision after looking into the facts of this letter. Therefore, it is the Speaker who must provide the answer as to whether an investigation will be conducted by Parliament or not. Currently, I only have this letter in my hand; I do not have further details regarding this.