Two individuals, including the owner of an employment agency located in Rajagiriya, have been arrested for conducting in-person interviews breaching regulations of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE).
The SLBFE stated that the employment agency had conducted in-person interviews for job opportunities at an apple farm in the Netherlands.
Even though the employment agency was registered with the SLBFE, it had conducted interviews without receiving formal approval from the SLBFE for the job opportunities in the Netherlands.
The employment agency also obtained a payment of Rs. 5000 from candidates as an initial payment, the SLBFE revealed. Officials from the SLBFE’s Investigation Division had raided the employment agency based on a tip-off.
Stating that nearly 300 candidates had arrived for the interviews, the SLBFE stated upon being informed that it was illegal the group had attempted to assault the owner of the agency, resulting in a tense situation.
The SLBFE further stated that the owner and another individual were arrested, while SLBFE officials had seized 200 passports, over Rs. 400,000 in cash, job applications, and other related documents from the agency.
The suspects who were produced before the Hulftsdorp Magistrate’s Court have been released on two sureties of Rs. 1 million each after pleading guilty to the offence. (NewsWire)