“Driver who worked at the Foreign Employment Bureau in a large-scale Israel job scam”
A driver who was removed from his service at the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) has been implicated in a large-scale fraud, where he promised jobs in Israel. The Bureau’s Special Investigation Unit has received numerous complaints regarding this, and the officers of the Bureau’s Police Unit have launched an investigation into the matter.
The Chairman of the Bureau, Koshala Wickremasinghe, immediately instructed the Police Unit to take action. Accordingly, the woman who owns the bank account to which the money was transferred was arrested by the officers of the Police Unit of the Bureau’s Investigation Unit recently (25) in the Avissawella area.
During questioning, it was revealed that the woman had a close relationship with the said driver. The driver is currently evading the investigating officers and is in hiding, while extensive investigations are underway to arrest him.
The Bureau has so far received eight complaints against the suspect driver, and information has been uncovered that a sum close to one crore rupees (ten million rupees) has been defrauded. According to the complaints, he collected money from residents in various parts of the island, promising them jobs in Israel. The money defrauded by the driver was deposited into the arrested woman’s account.
Individuals who have been victims of this fraud are requested to immediately inform the Bureau, which can be done by calling the telephone number 1989.
The suspect arrested in connection with this fraud was produced before the Acting Magistrate of Avissawella yesterday, and the Acting Magistrate ordered her to be remanded until today (27).
Chairman of the Bureau, Koshala Wickremasinghe, further stated that comprehensive investigations are being carried out to bring to justice those involved in foreign employment frauds committed using the Bureau’s name, and that legal action will be taken to impose severe penalties on the fraudsters, regardless of their status. He also mentioned that the new Police Unit established at the Bureau has already uncovered several foreign employment scams and that measures are in place to apprehend the culprits in the future.
