On Monday, January 6, Thisara Iroshana Nanayakkara, the brother of former Minister of Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara, who was recently arrested in connection to a foreign employment scam, was not produced in court by investigators. While the police reported evidence against him at the Gampaha Magistrate’s court, Nanayakkara was appearing before a court 126 kilometres away in Galle to answer another allegation.
Had he appeared before the Gampaha court on the day, Nanayakkara would have faced mounting legal challenges, as the Financial Crimes Investigations Division (FCID) accused him of defrauding victims to the tune of over Rs. 60 million.
Presenting facts before Gampaha Chief Magistrate Shilani Perera, Officer-in-Charge of the FCID, Chief Inspector Mahinda Jayasundara, said that the number of complaints against Nanayakkara was increasing daily.
“The complaints are coming in so rapidly that we are unable to keep up with recording the statements,” he told the court.
According to the FCID, the number of complaints against Nanayakkara has now risen to 37, with the total amount defrauded amounting to over Rs. 60 million.
Nanayakkara was arrested on December 28 in Bibile following a complaint against him by a resident of Yakkala for defrauding the victim of Rs. 3 million by promising to secure him a job in the Netherlands.
Jayasundara said it now appears Nanayakkara had promised to secure employment for his victims in approximately 20 other countries, including Finland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Israel. He said that the majority of the victims were state sector employees.
“During investigations, it was found that the fraud committed so far exceeds Rs. 65,700,000. Government officials have been the most affected by this fraud,” Jayasundara said, while requesting the court to grant bail to the suspect.
While Counsel Hasthika Devendra, representing the suspect admitted that his client had indeed accepted money from the victims, he said that the funds were no longer in his client’s possession, as they had been sent to a female residing in the UAE.
The counsel said that although the promised employment opportunities could not be provided, his client no longer had the money paid by the victims in his possession. He requested that the court release Nanayakkara on bail, subject to any conditions if may deem fit.
After reviewing the facts presented, Gampaha Chief Magistrate Perera ordered him to further remand him until January 17.
Meanwhile, a statement made by Nanayakkara’s older brother, Manusha, has not helped his case.
Breaking his silence regarding his brother’s arrest over the foreign employment scandal, Manusha said that he was the one who initially filed a complaint against his brother during his tenure as minister. “As soon as I became aware of the financial scam I complained to the police,” he said.
“There are various types of people in a family. Not everyone’s the same. I cannot be held responsible for what others do,” he told the media after an event at Sirikotha on Friday.
He said that he had no involvement in his brother’s activities and outlined his own efforts to educate the public about the dangers of paying third parties for foreign employment opportunities. The former Minister also called on the public to report any financial fraud related to foreign employment to the police.
