A 31-year-old former chief cashier of a leading state bank has been sentenced to 15 years of rigorous imprisonment after pleading guilty to misappropriating more than Rs. 130 million from the bank.
Homagama High Court Judgedelivered the verdict on Friday (Oct. 9), following an investigation launched by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in May 2025.
The accused faced three charges, including transferring more than Rs. 130 million from the state bank while serving as its chief cashier and crediting more than Rs. 110 million to his personal account at the bank’s Dehiwala branch.
The charges also included manipulating bank accounts using computer software to create fraudulent transactions.
The accused pleaded guilty to all three charges.
Presenting submissions on behalf of the Attorney General’s Department, Senior State Counsel told the court that chief cashiers were required to obtain approval from a second-level officer for transactions exceeding specified limits.
However, the accused had allegedly abused his position and breached the trust placed in him to carry out the fraudulent transactions.
The irregularities were discovered when the bank manager examined the accounts later that evening and found that more than Rs. 130 million had been transferred to a personal account.
Meanwhile, lawyers representing the accused requested a lenient sentence, claiming that their client had become involved in an online investment scam shortly before committing the offence.
According to the defence, the accused had received a link through social media inviting him to participate in an online investment scheme promising substantial returns.
He initially invested small amounts and received returns, but later found himself unable to recover the money he had invested.
The defence claimed that when he requested the return of his funds, those operating the scheme demanded a further substantial payment.
His lawyers argued that the accused had subsequently misappropriated the bank’s money in an attempt to recover his investment and requested the court to consider these circumstances when determining the sentence.
After considering the submissions, the High Court sentenced the accused to 15 years of rigorous imprisonment on each of the first two charges and five years of imprisonment with light labour on the third charge.
The court ordered that the sentences run concurrently, resulting in an effective prison term of 15 years, with time already spent in custody deducted from the sentence.
The judge also ordered the accused to repay the misappropriated sum of more than Rs. 130 million to the bank as compensation.
Failure to make the payment will result in an additional four-year prison sentence with light labour.
