Former United National Party (UNP) Deputy Leader and Member of Parliament Ravi Karunanayake says the Sri Lankan government should consider holding discussions with the Australian government to seek additional time to resolve the issue surrounding the reported transfer of a US$2.5 million loan repayment to a hacker-controlled account.
Speaking to the media, Karunanayake said diplomatic discussions could help determine whether an extension can be obtained to settle the outstanding payment.
He noted that Sri Lanka could request the Australian government to consider the circumstances sympathetically while the matter is being investigated.
According to the MP, if the facts surrounding the incident are clearly presented, Australia may consider granting the government additional time to complete the loan repayment.
Karunanayake, however, emphasized that Sri Lanka remains responsible for honouring its debt obligations and warned that if the government is unable to recover the misdirected funds or secure an alternative solution, the repayment would ultimately have to be made using public funds.
He added that although the government has stated that the public will not be burdened by the incident, any inability to recover the funds would mean the payment would eventually have to be financed through taxpayers’ money.
