Finance Ministry official interdicted over $2.5M cyber fraud found dead at home

An Assistant Director at the External Resources Department of the Finance Ministry, who had been interdicted over the alleged theft of USD 2.5 million by hackers, has reportedly been found dead under suspicious circumstances at his residence in Kuliyapitiya.

He was reportedly found dead at his residence in Kuliyapitiya today by relatives who then proceeded to inform the police.

Accordingly, police officers have already visited the scene and commenced preliminary investigations.

The cause of death is yet to be ascertained as investigations are ongoing to determine whether the death was a suicide, accidental or a homicide.

The Ministry of Finance had recently taken steps to suspend the deceased and three other officials in connection with the incident of the misplacement of a payment of USD 2.5 million from Treasury funds, allegedly due to hackers breaching a computer system at the ministry.

Meanwhile, it is reported said that the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) had notified the official in question on two occasions to appear before the CID to record a statement regarding this incident.

However, he had failed to appear before the CID on either occasion.

The CID is currently investigating the missing payment, which had been made as part of a debt settlement linked to a USD 22.9 million loan from the Australian government, after it had not reached its intended recipient and had instead been diverted to hackers.

The Ministry of Finance had lodged complaints with relevant law enforcement agencies regarding the cyber breach while Treasury Secretary Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma had stated that investigations revealed the hackers had gained access to the system through email, adding that efforts are underway to recover the funds.