Colombo: Police detectives in Sri Lanka are to record a statement from Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs Jeevan Kumaratunga over a multi-billion dollar forged passport scandal involving a group of supporters of the minister and Nigerians who provided the forged visas to them.
The move follows revelations made by some of the suspects now in custody in connection with the racket which involved the issue of forged United States visas for jobs in Alaska.
The office of the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs was used as the headquarters for the human smuggling operation. It came to light after Criminal Investigations Department (CID) detectives arrested eight Sri Lankan nationals heading for Alaska with forged visas.
Employment
Minister Kumaratunga has confirmed that he allowed two of his political supporters to use the ministry premises to provide employment to needy youth. He claimed that they had been duped by a Nigerian party who had promised the youth visas.
"I have given permission for my supporters to carry out my political activities from my ministry to help youth to seek jobs locally and abroad. Therefore they had collected the money to provide employment and get them the visas," Kumaratunga said.
CID investigations have revealed that the people who operated this alleged job racket had not registered themselves as a job agency, which is a legal requirement.
Detectives are now investigating to ascertain why visas for such jobs were sought from a Nigerian party when such applications could have been made directly to the United States Embassy in Colombo.
The CID has also sought the assistance of both the Interpol and the US Government to continue its investigations.
