Ravi Karunanayake has raised a series of questions in Parliament regarding the alleged Rs. 13,200 million financial fraud reported at National Development Bank during the 2024–2025 financial year and the first quarter of 2026.
Addressing the Parliament of Sri Lanka, the former United National Party Deputy Leader questioned the Ministry of Finance Sri Lanka regarding the effectiveness of the country’s financial monitoring and regulatory systems.
Among the key issues raised by the MP were:
- Whether such a large-scale financial fraud could occur because oversight mechanisms within the national financial system had failed
- Why the LankaPay national payment infrastructure allegedly failed to issue warnings regarding suspicious transactions
- Whether real-time transaction monitoring and processing systems had not been properly implemented
Karunanayake also questioned the wider financial impact of the alleged fraudulent transactions, including:
- Effects on dividends
- Impacts on institutional investors
- Retained dividend values during the period in which the suspicious transactions allegedly occurred
The MP further requested clarification regarding possible losses suffered by major institutional stakeholders, including:
- Employees’ Provident Fund
- Employees’ Trust Fund
- Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation
He also sought details on:
- The government’s estimated total financial loss
- Potential public financial losses
- Direct and indirect tax revenue losses
- Irrecoverable arrears linked to the alleged transactions
The issue has intensified scrutiny over:
- Banking sector regulation
- Financial system cybersecurity
- Payment infrastructure oversight
- Accountability within financial institutions and regulatory agencies in Sri Lanka.
