Cyber criminals hacked into the Sri Lankan finance ministry’s computer system and siphoned off $2.5 million, the government said yesterday, the most amount of cash ever stolen by hackers from a state institution in the debt-saddled country.

The cyber attack is a major blow to Sri Lanka, which is recovering from a crippling economic crisis in 2022 after Colombo defaulted on its $46 billion external debt.

The money was destined for debt repayment to Australia, a finance ministry official told reporters.

Four senior officers at the Public Debt Management Office (PDMO) were suspended after the breach, he said.