COLOMBO – SriLankan Airlines said on Saturday (16) that several Indian nationals employed in the finance division of its Chennai office had allegedly misappropriated 22 million Indian rupees through fraudulent manipulation of invoices, payment details and signatures.
In a statement issued on Saturday it said the fraud had taken place over a period of time and was uncovered after its head office in Colombo detected unusual payment transactions and launched an internal investigation.
According to the airline, the employees implicated in the fraud ceased reporting to work following the investigation, and disciplinary and legal measures have been initiated against them.
SriLankan Airlines said the matter had been referred to the relevant Indian law enforcement authorities and that investigations were currently underway.
The airline also stated that action would be taken to recover the financial losses incurred.
The latest incident comes amid heightened scrutiny over a series of financial frauds and cyber-related breaches involving Sri Lankan state institutions and public entities.
SriLankan Airlines is also currently dealing with another financial fraud investigation involving a payment of approximately 265,000 US dollars mistakenly transferred to an incorrect account belonging to a UAE-based service provider after the email account of the airline’s Dubai agent was reportedly compromised.
Authorities in Sri Lanka have in recent months uncovered several major financial frauds, including the hacking-related theft of 2.5 million US dollars from the Treasury and a separate fraud involving 625,000 US dollars from the Postal Department, raising concerns over cybersecurity vulnerabilities and financial oversight within public institutions.
-ENCL
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