Is tourist visa fraud another white-collar theft? Sri Lanka Latest News
The online tourist visa system was introduced in 2012 when I was the chairman of the Tourism Board.
It was introduced by the Immigration Department. Technical support was provided by SLT Mobitel.
Even developed countries in this region introduced online visa systems to their countries only after Sri Lanka.
We used this for 12 years continuously. There was no problem.
In 2018, 2.3 million tourists came to Sri Lanka which means 23 lakhs. There was no problem with this system.
1.4 million tourists came to Sri Lanka in 2024. This year it is expected to exceed 2 million.. that means the same goal as 2018.
So, why did Sri Lanka change how visas were given in a hurry and pay a lot of money to a foreign company to issue visas?
This company does not provide any new facilities for tourists. No new service is provided that the Sri Lankan government cannot provide.
But they charge $25 for that service.
This is a lot of money
If 2 million tourists come to Sri Lanka in a year, we will pay 50 million dollars to a foreign company for them.
Remember this is not 50 million dollars.
One million dollars is 300 million in Sri Lankan money.
Then 50 times like that is the minimum income of this company per year. From tourists who come to Sri Lanka whether they have those companies or not.
This can’t be a job done out of love for that company. A huge sum of Rs 15 billion per year. According to what we heard, this is a 12-year contract. An airport like Mattala Airport can be built with that money.
Generally, when providing these services to other countries, the company charges 7.5 dollars per visa. . Then why are we paying an extra 17.5 dollars to this company.
Obviously, the question arises whether there is a big underhand deal in this
Is this done to earn money for the next election? This is the latest scenario in the mega bond heist.
Bond robbery is white collar theft. There is a lot of scope for this to be the same.
Is it the collective responsibility of the entire cabinet to protect this?
There are a number of ministers who are responsible for this. Because it is not only wrong to do wrong, but also wrong to support wrongdoing. The ministers involved in this cannot escape by saying that they do not know
