Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya has confirmed that the government is taking the necessary legal action over the financial fraud involving unauthorised access to the computer system of the Department of External Resources under the Ministry of Finance, her first direct public statement on the matter.
Speaking in Kandy after paying respects to the Most Venerable Thibbatuwawe Sri Siddhartha Sumangala Abhidana Mahanayake Thero of the Malwathu Chapter, the Prime Minister said investigations have already commenced and that international assistance has been offered.
“In particular, the Government of Australia has informed us of its willingness to support the investigative process, as stated by the Australian High Commissioner,” she said.
The remark confirms a cross-border law-enforcement cooperation track alongside the Finance Ministry’s own recovery effort. Finance Secretary Harshana Suriyapperuma has said efforts are underway to recover as much as possible of the USD 2.5 million stolen by cyber criminals, and five officials have been interdicted as part of the internal probe.
The Prime Minister criticised opposition handling of the case, arguing that “the opposition still seems not to understand what the people expect from it” and that ministers had faced “baseless” allegations. “A democratic country needs an opposition,” she said, but accused parties of attempting to “seize power through any means.”
On reports that the opposition is preparing a no-confidence motion against her, the Prime Minister said she would welcome the move. “They even said they would bring a no-confidence motion against me. I am also waiting for them to submit it to Parliament. Then I will have the opportunity to present my facts and respond,” she said.
The statement lands as the Committee on Public Finance continues its technical-default examination of how the fraudulent email instruction bypassed Treasury controls.
