Sri Lanka, June 24 -- The recent US $2.5 million cyber theft from the newly established Public Debt Management Office (PDMO)-where a sovereign debt repayment to Australia was intercepted via systemic digital breaches, had a direct bearing on Sri Lanka's programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), according to a top official.

IMF Resident Representative Martha Tesfaye Woldemichael told Daily Mirror in an emailed interview that the continuous performance criterion on preventing new external payment arrears was not observed due to the missing external debt payment to Australia.

As a result, in order to receive the tranches under the Fifth and Sixth Reviews, the authorities requested a waiver of nonobservance on the basis of mino...