Sri Lanka Cricket revealed that the employee tried to embezzle US$5.5 million

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has confirmed that it thwarted an attempt by one of its employees to embezzle US$5.5 million into an offshore bank account.

The money was sent to the board from Sony Pictures Networks for the broadcasting rights for England’s upcoming tour of Sri Lanka.

“Immediately, upon finding of the attempted fraud, SLC CEO Ashley de Silva lodged a complaint to the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID), under the direction of the Minister of Sports Faiszer Musthapha,” an SLC media release, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo, said.

The employee, whose name won’t be revealed due to the ongoing investigation, is understood to be part of the board’s finance division.

Speaking about the incident, De Silva told ESPNcricinfo: “We came to know about the incident on Friday, with the individual having sent the mail on Thursday. Following internal inquiries over the weekend we decided to lodge a complaint with the FCID.”

While the FCID conduct their investigation, SLC has confirmed that it will do an internal audit on all transactions over the past year.