The Computer Crimes Division of the Criminal Investigation Department reported facts before the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court yesterday (28) regarding the incident of defrauding the government of nearly $2.5 million through the Central Bank of Sri Lanka’s email forwarding process.
Reporting facts before Colombo Fort Magistrate Isuru Netthikumarage, the Criminal Investigation Department informed that, based on a complaint received, an extensive investigation has been initiated into this incident under the Public Property Act, the Computer Crimes Act and the Penal Code.
Taking these facts into consideration, the Magistrate ordered the immediate ban on foreign travel of five officials of the Finance Department who were involved in this incident. In addition, the court granted permission to the investigating officers to examine their bank accounts.
The court also granted permission to appoint an expert committee representing the Government Analyst, the Head of the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) and the Dean of the Faculty of Computer Science, University of Colombo, to conduct technical investigations into this sophisticated fraud.
Considering the sensitivity and sophistication of the investigations, the Magistrate also ordered that the case file be placed in a safe in the court.