US $ 2.5 million cyber heist comes under IMF watch

Colombo, April 25 (Daily Mirror) - The theft of US $ 2.5 million by cybercriminals who breached the computer systems of the Finance Ministry has come under the spotlight of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which is closely watching the situation, a spokesperson said.

In responding to a question by the Daily Mirror, an IMF spokesman said the IMF had taken note of this development.

“We are aware of the statement issued by Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Finance confirming unauthorised access to the computer systems of ERD. We take note of this important development and are closely monitoring the situation,” the spokesman said.

The funds were meant for repayment of debt to Australia. Sri Lanka is currently recovering from its worst-ever economic crisis in 2022 after a programme with the IMF. The country defaulted on payment of US $ 46 billion in debts.

The IMF and the Sri Lankan authorities have reached staff-level agreement on economic policies to conclude the combined Fifth and Sixth Reviews of Sri Lanka’s reform programme supported by the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility. Once the review is approved by the IMF Executive Board, Sri Lanka will have access to about US$700 million in financing.

The IMF arrangement has been made for a total amount of about US $ 3 billion on March 20, 2023.