The education ministry has launched disciplinary proceedings against a number of staff members after €300,000 were paid to scammers posing as a service provider.

Sources said the payment was issued against an invoice received for services rendered but which turned out to have come from hackers.

A spokesperson for the education ministry confirmed that it had fallen victim to a scam and that disciplinary action was being taken against the staffers who had committed the mistake.

He explained that, as soon as the office of the permanent secretary realised that the payment had been transferred erroneously, the matter was reported to the police financial crime unit and an internal investigation was launched to look into the matter and establish the facts.

Investigations revealed that the payment was issued following receipt of an invoice from UK-based Hyland Software Ltd, with which the education ministry has an agreement for blockchain-based storage of official records.

It emerged that the invoice was allegedly paid erroneously to a third party who was suspected to have hacked the account of Hyland Software UK Ltd and requested payment.

Unsuspecting account clerks processed the invoice and a payment was made. However, they later realised that they had been scammed when the actual invoice was received through the usual channels.

The matter was brought to the attention of the ministry officials, including Permanent Secretary Matthew Vella five months after the payment, when another invoice was received.

“Based on the conclusions of the investigation conducted by the board, the permanent secretary issued charges for disciplinary action against a number of officials involved in the payment of this particular invoice,” the spokesperson said in reply to questions.

He added that the ministry is in continuous contact with the financial crime unit in its investigations, which is also taking place on an international level.