Govt. reopens probe into missing $ 17.79 m legacy Treasury payments

Thursday, 6 August 2026 06:16 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala says investigations launched into Australian milch cow and Chinese fertiliser payments under previous administrations
Alleges previous Govt.s failed to investigate disputed transactions
Wider review underway into historic overseas payments and anomalies
Cases form part of broader financial accountability drive

Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananda Wijepala

The Government has reopened investigations into two overseas procurement transactions worth a combined $ 17.79 million, including payments for Australian milch cows and Chinese fertiliser, as part of a broader review of historic public expenditure, Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananda Wijepala told Parliament yesterday.

Speaking during the debate on the Committee on Public Finance (CoPF) report on the Treasury cyber fraud, Wijepala said authorities were investigating a payment of $ 11.09 million made during 2014/15 for the procurement of 20,000 milch cows from Australia.

He said no cows had been received, the funds had been lost, and no investigation had previously been conducted into the transaction.

The Minister also said the Government was investigating a separate payment of $ 6.7 million made for Chinese fertiliser after fertiliser was not received.

Wijepala said both cases formed part of a wider review of historical overseas payments and financial anomalies undertaken by the Government.

He said investigators were examining older transactions to determine whether public funds had been misused and to identify any irregularities that had not previously been investigated.