Treasury officials must repay if missing USD 2.5mn cannot be recovered: Deputy Minister

If the Sri Lankan government is unable to recover the alleged USD 2.5 million Treasury fund heist, the officials involved will be required to repay the amount, Deputy Minister of Tourism Ruwan Ranasinghe said.

Responding to questions from the media, he said the government has already launched an investigation and that international agencies are also involved.

“We are confident that this money can be recovered,” he said while speaking at Sri Lanka’s only Luxury Travel Fair event yesterday.

“However, if the government is unable to recover the funds, all Treasury officials involved will have to pay this amount,” he added.

Sri Lankan officials reportedly detected the missing USD 2.5 million only after the Australian creditor informed authorities that the debt repayment had not been received.

The incident is seen as a setback for Sri Lanka, which is still recovering from the severe economic crisis of 2022 after Colombo defaulted on its USD 46 billion external debt.

Many observers say that it will be a very tall order to recover this money now as the funds taken may already have been spent by those responsible. (Shirajiv S.)