Police now believe the reported theft of Rs. 35 million from a state-owned bank in Horana was an orchestrated internal fraud rather than an external armed robbery, investigators said on Sunday, marking a sharp shift in a case that was initially treated as one of the largest cash snatches at a Sri Lankan branch this year.
The Assistant Manager of the bank, who remains in custody under a detention order, was taken to the bank premises for further questioning and is reported to have provided a detailed statement on how the funds were misappropriated.
Investigators allege the suspect diverted bank money over an extended period, primarily to cover interest payments on personal loans taken from multiple individuals. Some of the funds are believed to have been routed into private business ventures, including mining-related activities.
Police also allege the Assistant Manager — who was responsible for replenishing the branch’s ATM machines — consistently entered lower-than-required cash amounts into the system while retaining the difference. Authorities say the practice continued for a long period and was not detected because the branch had not undergone a recent full-scale physical audit.
Further inquiries have surfaced allegations that the suspect ran informal lending operations and made significant personal expenditures, including spending on people known to him.
Crucially, police say no evidence has so far emerged to support the original claim that an external group had carried out an armed robbery. Instead, investigators suspect the incident “may have been falsely presented or orchestrated as a cover for internal misappropriation, allegedly involving staff members.”
The reclassification follows the June 5 arrests of the assistant manager and a security officer, with Rs. 17 million recovered, and supersedes the original June 3 report that a cash bag was snatched from a state bank branch in Horana. The Western Province North Crimes Division is continuing the investigation.
Sources: Ada Derana — Horana bank robbery likely an ‘internal fraud’.
