Treasury heist takes a dark turn

By Darshana Sanjeewa Balasuriya

Kuliyapitiya, May 1, Daily Mirror - Against the backdrop of ongoing investigations into the disappearance of US$2.5 million from the treasury account, an official from the Finance Ministry who was under probe had been found dead in his home garden in Kuliyapitiya yesterday.

Police said that the official, Ranga Nishantha (50), was the Assistant Director of the External Resources Division of the Finance Ministry, and he may have committed suicide by slitting an artery in his leg in his garden at home. His children, who went to the garden later, found him dead, the police. However, it has not yet been conclusively determined whether he was murdered by someone, took his own life, or died due to an accidental injury, such as a severed vein in his leg.

The government has suspended four senior finance ministry officials pending a disciplinary inquiry into a cyber-theft that resulted in the diversion of $2.5 million earmarked for an external debt payment to Australia. The suspended staff include a Director and an Assistant Director from the ERD, along with a Director and an Additional Director General from the Public Debt Management Office (PDMO).

The suspended staff include a Director and an Assistant Director from the ERD, along with a Director and an Additional Director General from the Public Debt Management Office (PDMO).

It was reported that Ranga Nishantha had gone to the garden behind his house to do some work. When he didn't return, his family searched for him and found him lying near a banana bush.

There were cut wounds on his hands and legs, specifically near the arteries. A knife was found near the body.

Contrary to some reports claiming he avoided the police, it was reported that he appeared before the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) several times in April, to provide statements.

The investigation involves suspicious email communications and the deletion of data. The CID is currently working to recover the deleted data and has seized four mobile phones found at his residence for further forensic analysis.

The Kuliyapitiya Magistrate conducted an onsite magisterial inquiry following the death , who was a key figure in the investigation into the disappearance of $2.5 million from the Treasury.

Police sources said that the death of the official poses a significant setback to the ongoing investigation, as he was the primary point of contact for the email communications that led to the breach. 

Concerns are mounting that his death may be connected to a high-level cover-up related to the Treasury heist.

Civil activist Rajith Keerthi Tennakoon said that Ranga Nishantha, an alumnus of Kuliyapitiya Central College and the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, was actually the first person to lodge a formal police complaint regarding the Treasury heist.

The Kuliyapitiya Police are conducting further investigations into the incident.