Colombo, May 16 (Daily Mirror) – SriLankan Airlines has issued a clarification regarding reports on two separate financial incidents involving a fraudulent payment linked to a compromised service provider email account in the UAE and the alleged misappropriation of company funds at its office in Chennai, India.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the airline said it was informed by a Dubai-based service provider that payment amounting to AED 974,000 had not been received. Subsequent investigations revealed that the service provider’s email account had allegedly been compromised by a third party, who altered bank account details and supplied supporting documents through official communication channels, misleading the airline into believing it was dealing with the legitimate service provider.

SriLankan Airlines said that immediate action was taken to halt any further payments to the account in question, while the matter was reported to authorities in the UAE and to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Sri Lanka. Investigations are currently underway in both countries.

The airline further said that the payment had been made based on email instructions and supporting documentation bearing authorised signatures, which were later found to have originated fraudulently through the compromised account. SriLankan Airlines also denied liability for the non-receipt of funds by the service provider, stating that the issue arose due to a breach of the service provider’s email system, which was beyond the airline’s control.

Meanwhile, the airline also addressed an alleged financial fraud at its Chennai office in India, where several employees in the finance department are accused of misappropriating approximately INR 22 million over a period of time.

According to the airline, the employees, all Indian nationals, allegedly manipulated invoices, payment details and signatures to carry out the fraud. The irregular transactions were detected by the airline’s Head Office in Colombo, prompting an internal investigation.

Following the investigation, the employees concerned stopped reporting to work, and appropriate action has been initiated against them, the airline said.

SriLankan Airlines added that the matter has been referred to relevant Indian law enforcement authorities, with investigations currently ongoing and steps being taken to recover the losses.