The Hon. (Dr.) Anil Jayantha - Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning

¶ 01 Mr. Speaker, under Standing Order 27(2), the Hon. Sajith Premadasa has raised eight questions. The first question has several parts.

¶ 02 1. The primary legal framework governing state finance management and debt management comprises: (i) The Public Financial Management Act, No. 44 of 2024; and (ii) The State Debt Management Act, No. 33 of 2024, for domestic and external debt management.

¶ 03 2. Implementation responsibilities: (i) The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) and the Public Debt Management Office (PDMO) are assigned responsibilities under these laws. (ii) Under this framework, until 31 December 2025, the CBSL’s Public Debt Department held state debt management responsibilities, and without changing the processes, from January 2026 the PDMO commenced fulfilling Government debt management responsibilities.

¶ 04 Payment dates/amounts: - 14 November 2025: USD 713,757 (three vouchers) - 28 November 2025: USD 377,660 - 5 January 2026: USD 420,210 (five invoices) - 6 January 2026: USD 997,799

¶ 05 3. The standard procedure followed by the CBSL until 31 December 2025 and maintained by the PDMO from 1 January 2026 is as follows: - Invoices are received by the Department of External Resources (ERD) via email from creditors. - The PDMO verifies invoices against the CS‑DRMS (Commonwealth Secretariat Debt Recording and Management System) data and the debt service forecast. - The PDMO coordinates with the Department of Treasury Operations for account details and with the CBSL for foreign currency releases. - After verification, data is entered into the Non‑Reserve Management System. - Fund releases are made by the CBSL.

¶ 06 Responsibility: Identification of the specific officers responsible for these payments requires investigation, which is ongoing.

¶ 07 4. Discovery and subsequent action: (i) Date of discovery: 23 March 2026. (ii) The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) was notified, and information uncovered has already been reported to Court via a “B” Report. As Parliament did not sit during the last week of April, there was no opportunity to report to Parliament then. Nevertheless, investigations have continued uninterrupted. In addition to reporting to the CID, an internal committee has conducted an inquiry; based on its findings, four officers have been interdicted. Therefore, there has been no intentional avoidance of reporting.

¶ 08 Further notifications: - The Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team (SLCERT) was notified on 9 January 2026 and, the same day, the CID was copied. - The creditor is Australia’s Export Finance agency, which reported non‑receipt of funds on 23 March 2026. - A written complaint to the CID was lodged by the Director‑General of the ERD on 24 March 2026. - A report was made to the CBSL Financial Intelligence Unit on 1 April 2026.

¶ 09 5. Complaints: (i) Date: 24 March 2026; Complaint No.: C/51/26/CR. (ii) A “B” Report has been filed in Court. The categorization of the offence is under investigation by the competent authorities.

¶ 10 7. On technical default: Financial and legal advisors to the debt restructuring were consulted. Although the Australian creditor did not receive the funds remitted by Sri Lanka, there is neither inability nor unwillingness to pay on the part of the Government of Sri Lanka. Australia is working closely with Sri Lanka, and this was an act perpetrated by cyber‑criminals. Therefore, advisors have indicated that Australia and Paris Club members are unlikely to treat this as a default.

¶ 11 8. On accountability of senior officers: The ERD and the PDMO are the two agencies engaged in investigative and remedial actions. The continued presence of the Secretary to the Treasury is not an impediment to a fair investigation. Findings on any dereliction of duty by officers will determine conclusions and actions.

¶ 12 Further information will be presented under Ministry Statements in due course. Thank you.