Inconsistency of institutions, officials led to theft of USD 2.5 million: COPF

By Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana 

Colombo, May 09 (Daily Mirror) - The lack of consistency among the institutions and officials involved on the confirmation of payment and balances of foreign debts led to the alleged USD 2.5 million theft, a report of the Committee on Public Finances (COPF) which was submitted to Parliament revealed. 

"It appears that the External Resources Department continues to play a significant role in this function, despite the Public Debt Management Act (PDMA) mandating the debt servicing and reporting functions being fully moved to the Public Department Management Office," the report said. 

"Officials of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) cannot absolve themselves of any responsibility for the issue. Until January 2026, the CBSL PDD was involved in supporting the PDMO’s functions and as the foreign reserves manager of the country it ought to be vigilant of how the Treasury’s Foreign Currency Accounts held with the Central Bank are utilized," the report added. 

The COPF has recommended that the Ministry of Finance should submit a comprehensive report with a detailed timeline of events and actions taken so far, how and why the fraudulent transaction occurred, institutional issues identified, including the staff and technological capacity of institutions involved in debt management, and measures taken to prevent a recurrence, within four weeks before the end of May 2026. 

The Ministry of Finance shall submit documents confirming the delegation of authority of financial control that underlie the existing payments processes for all foreign debt repayments, alongside its comprehensive report. The Ministry of Finance shall ensure that the debt management functions have been fully transitioned to the Public Debt Management Office as stated in the Public Debt Management Act. 

"The COPF report also said the Ministry of Finance has to consider cybersecurity as a fiscal risk, taking comprehensive action to prevent the recurrence of payment issues and data breaches that have become a regular happening over the last few years.