The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) and the Ministry of Finance are working together to strengthen systems and prevent a repeat of the alleged fraudulent transfer of USD 2.5 million belonging to the Finance Ministry, CBSL Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe said.

The Governor made these comments addressing the media briefing at the Central Bank today (13), Dr. Weerasinghe said both institutions are reviewing existing procedures and using their expertise to introduce safeguards against similar incidents in the future.

Responding to questions from journalists, the Governor clarified that, as the banker to the government, the Central Bank is not directly responsible for altering or verifying payment instructions issued by account holders

He explained that once account details and payment mechanisms are properly verified, the Central Bank’s role is limited to processing the transaction.

“For an example, if your bank is instructed to make a payment from your account to another account, the bank’s responsibility is to verify the bank account number. If the system recognizes it, the payment will be made, that is what they do. Beyond that, the bank does not have a right to change the instructions you have given,” Dr. Weerasinghe explained. 

He further stated that banks do not have the authority to change customer instructions, while confirmation of receipt after a transfer is generally handled by the receiving institution.

He added that statements related to the fraudulent transaction in question would have been received by the relevant institution in Australia. (Newswire)

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