Sajith accuses govt of cover-up over $2.5 million cyber heist, questions delayed probe

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa charged that the government has not yet made a formal statement regarding the USD $2.5 million in Finance Ministry funds that were stolen by hackers.

Speaking to reporters following a religious event held in Kurunegala today (24), he alleged that there is no formal explanation regarding the incident and that the Secretary to the Ministry of Finance and Treasury, Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma, is making one statement while Deputy Finance Minister Dr. Anil Jayantha is making another analysis. 

Therefore, the Opposition Leader pointed out that the people of this country are unable to obtain accurate and truthful information regarding this situation and emphasised that the people also have the right to obtain accurate information.

He said that the Secretary to the Ministry of Finance stated that the problem was identified in January and that the investigation was conducted in a manner that maintained confidentiality for several months. 

However, if the relevant problem was identified in January, it is questionable why the committee’s appointment was delayed until March to conduct the investigation, Premadasa said, adding that it is a serious problem that the Parliament, which has the main responsibility for finances, was not informed about this theft until this information was exposed.

The Leader of the Opposition further said that Deputy Minister Anil Jayantha has stated that such an incident occurred in a transaction with India and called on the government to immediately clarify the truth of this statement.

Furthermore, he stated that if money was lost in the transaction with India as well as the transaction with the Australian government, the truth should be clarified to the country, and it is questionable why this serious matter was hidden for months.