A civic organisation has submitted a formal letter to Finance Secretary Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma demanding evidence-based answers on his citizenship history, opening a new accountability front against the official already at the centre of the Treasury cyber heist probe.
The “Dinana Dakuna” organisation has put five specific questions to the Finance Ministry Secretary, asking him to provide documentary clarification on:
- The exact date he obtained Australian citizenship.
- Whether and when he renounced that citizenship.
- The date he obtained Sri Lankan citizenship under the relevant legal provisions after renouncing his Australian status.
- Whether he had officially renounced his Australian citizenship at the time he took oath as a Member of Parliament, or had only submitted a renunciation application at that point.
- Whether the document numbered C19090060828 dated 03.02.2010, currently in public circulation, relates to his Australian citizenship or amounts to misleading information.
The organisation said it expects “direct and evidence-based responses” and urged the Secretary to provide prompt clarification supported by documentary proof.
Sri Lankan law restricts dual citizens from holding certain elected and appointed public positions, making the timing and status of any prior foreign citizenship politically and legally sensitive for senior officials. Suriyapperuma served as a Member of Parliament before his appointment to the Finance Ministry secretariat.
The questions land while the Secretary is already under sustained pressure over the USD 2.5 million Treasury cyber-fraud — a foreign sovereign debt repayment misdirected via fraudulent emails — and over a refusal earlier this cycle to attend the Committee on Public Finance, which the Free Lawyers Association cited in its complaint to the Speaker.
The Secretary has not yet publicly responded to the Dinana Dakuna letter.
Source: Ada Derana.
