US sleuths trace US$2.5 Mn cyber theft trail as probe closes in on suspects

The Government told Parliament on Wednesday (5) that United States financial intelligence investigators had traced the money trail of the US$2.5 million cyber theft involving funds allocated for the repayment of an Australian loan, with Sri Lankan authorities confident that the investigation was nearing those responsible.

Public Security Minister Ananda Wijapala said that US investigators had identified the movement of the stolen funds and shared the findings with Sri Lankan authorities, providing a major breakthrough in the ongoing probe.

"The investigations will soon reach those responsible," Wijapala said while participating in an adjournment debate on the Committee on Public Finance (CoPF) report into the cyber theft.

He said a special investigative mechanism was established immediately after the fraud was detected, bringing together experts from the University of Colombo, the Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team (SLCERT) and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

Rejecting allegations that the Ministry of Finance or the Central Bank had been involved in the theft, the Minister said investigations had found no evidence linking officials of either institution to the crime.

"There was an attempt to blame the Finance Ministry and the Central Bank. Investigations have established that no one in those institutions was involved in committing this crime," he said.

However, he said several officials had been interdicted over failures relating to their responsibility for data security. The Government had also taken steps to strengthen cyber security arrangements at the Department of External Resources to prevent similar incidents in the future.

Wijapala said investigators had recorded statements from 91 officials attached to the Public Debt Management Office and the Central Bank as part of the inquiry.

He said Sri Lanka had sought international assistance through Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) procedures from the United States, Australia, the United Arab Emirates, Switzerland and Zambia, while assistance had also been requested from INTERPOL, highlighting the cross-border nature of the cybercrime.

The Minister also revealed that the Government had expanded investigations into a separate controversial overseas payment made during the previous administration.

He said authorities were examining the transfer of US$11.09 million to Australian company Wellard during 2014-2015 for a project to import milch cows, despite no cows being brought into Sri Lanka after the payment was made.

"This is the difference between previous governments and the National People's Power Government. We do not sweep matters under the carpet. We investigate crimes committed in the past as well as those taking place today," Wijapala said.

The US$2.5 million cyber theft came to light after funds set aside for the repayment of an Australian loan were fraudulently transferred, triggering a multi-agency investigation involving both local and international authorities.