Public interest activist Nagananda Kodituwakku has written to Australia’s Department of Home Affairs seeking citizenship details of Finance Ministry Secretary and Treasury Secretary Harshana Suriyapperuma, opening a new front in the controversy around the missing USD 2.5 million Treasury cyber theft.
The letter dated 28 April invokes Section 15 of Australia’s Freedom of Information Act No. 3 of 1982. Kodituwakku, a Solicitor of England and Wales who leads the Vinivida Foundation, says he intends to move court against Suriyapperuma for entering Parliament through the NPP National List in alleged violation of Article 91(1)(d)(xiii) of the Constitution, which disqualifies dual citizens from parliamentary seats.
“This is clearly an accountability and integrity issue and violation of the Constitution of Sri Lanka and also this act contravenes the law of a member in the Commonwealth,” Kodituwakku said in remarks to The Island.
Suriyapperuma served as Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning from November 2024 to June 2025 before assuming the Treasury Secretary role. He is the senior official at the centre of the USD 2.5 million Treasury heist controversy and has been summoned by the Committee on Public Finance on Thursday, 30 April. The lost installment was a payment to a third party intended for an Australian loan repayment. Suriyapperuma did not respond to The Island’s calls or messages.
The activist cited two precedents where MPs lost their seats over citizenship: UPFA’s Geetha Kumarasinghe in 2017 and SJB National List MP Diana Gamage in 2024.
The ‘Free Lawyers’ group that exposed the theft separately questioned why CoPF Chairman Dr. Harsha de Silva has not pressed President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to temporarily remove Suriyapperuma to allow unhindered investigation. Spokesperson Rajith Keerthi Tennakoon issued an open letter urging de Silva to clarify his stance.
