Colombo, July 31 (Daily Mirror) – Sri Lankan authorities have stepped up action against foreign employment fraud, with 567 court cases filed in just the first seven months of 2025, according to the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE).
The Bureau confirmed it received 2,620 complaints between January and July 2025, many involving unlicensed recruitment agents and fake job offers. These scams targeted vulnerable citizens hoping to secure work abroad in countries such as Israel, South Korea, Japan, Romania, and various Middle Eastern nations.
During this period, the SLBFE said it had recovered Rs. 199.4 million from suspects, returning a portion of that to victims. The Special Investigation Division also carried out five raids, including one on a licensed employment agency operating illegally. In total, 36 people were arrested, including seven individuals from agencies that were officially registered.
The problem is not new. In 2024 alone, the Bureau documented 4,658 fraud-related complaints and recovered Rs. 18.25 million for victims.
The SLBFE has urged the public to exercise extreme caution when accepting job offers abroad, particularly in countries known to be frequently mentioned in scam reports. Officials stress that any job offer should be verified through the SLBFE hotline 1989, and all complaints should be promptly reported.
The Bureau emphasized that it continues to monitor both licensed and unlicensed employment agencies and remains committed to cracking down on fraud networks that exploit Sri Lanka’s migrant workforce.