Four bank managers arrested over alleged US$1 Billion transfer scheme
Four managers of major private banks in Sri Lanka have been arrested over an alleged scheme to illegally transfer around US$1 billion from the country to foreign destinations.
The arrests were made by the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
According to reports, all four managers were taken into custody at the premises of their respective private banks.
Police said this is the first time in Sri Lanka that bank officials have been arrested in connection with an incident of this nature.
Investigations have revealed that the main person allegedly behind the scheme had made weekly cash payments to the four bank officials.
The officials are reported to have received weekly payments of Rs. 30,000, Rs. 50,000 and Rs. 100,000, depending on the individual.
Investigators have also found that one of the four arrested bank managers had allegedly received around Rs. 1 million on a single occasion.
The CID’s Financial Crimes Investigation Division is conducting further investigations into the alleged illegal transfer of funds.
UPDATE – 05:55 PM:
The four managers of major private banks who were arrested over an alleged scheme to illegally transfer around US$1 billion out of Sri Lanka have been remanded until August 20, 2026.
The four suspects, arrested by the Financial Crimes Investigation Division of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), were produced before the Colombo Additional Magistrate this afternoon (August 17), where the remand order was issued.