The reported loss of US$ 2.5 million through fraudulent payment instructions is not a minor financial lapse but a serious breakdown in oversight, internal controls, and institutional safeguards within the Treasury, Namal Rajapaksa has said.

In a post on X, Rajapaksa said that when systems fail at the highest level, junior officials should not be made “sacrificial lambs” to shield those responsible for supervision and decision-making.

He further argued that if inexperienced officials are placed in sensitive technical positions without adequate safeguards, responsibility lies with those who designed and approved the system rather than those exposed to its weaknesses.

Raising a series of questions, Rajapaksa asked how fraudulent email instructions were able to bypass established verification protocols and why existing safeguards had proved inadequate.

He also questioned how the role of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka was undermined in managing high-value transactions, and who approved a process that left public funds vulnerable to such risks.

The Government and the CBSL have not reponded to the reports so far.