COLOMBO: Cyber criminals hacked into the Sri Lankan finance ministry`s computer system and siphoned off $2.5 million, the government said Thursday, 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 as debt repayment to Australia, finance ministry secretary Harshana Suriyapperuma told reporters in the capital.

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

Authorities were alerted to an attempt to break into the ministry`s e-mail server, and investigations showed that a $2.5 million payment owed to Australia had disappeared.

`Criminal investigators are lool(ing into this and we are not in a position to give further details, Suriyapperuma said, adding that Sri Lankan authorities were seeking help from foreign law enforcement agencies.

Sri Lanka established the PDMO earlier this year in line with an IMFbacked $2.9 billion bailout loan from early 2023.

Australia`s High Commissioner in Sri Lanka, Matthew Duckworth, said Canberra was aware of `irregularities` in payments owed to it.-AFP