Min. sec’s name allegedly used to defraud job seekers

Colombo Chief Magistrate Nishantha Hapuarachchi allowed the CID to obtain statements of an account opened at the Mathugama Peoples Bank, which is alleged to have been opened by those involved in an attempt to defraud foreign job seekers to Italy.

The CID informed the Chief Magistrate Court of Colombo that they were looking to arrest the culprits who used Disaster Management and Human Resources Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe’s Secretary, Mrs. Gothami Samanmali Gunasekera’s, name to defraud foreign job seekers.

They said the Minister’s Media Secretary, Suranga Prasad Hidallana Arachchi, lodged a complaint on June 30, stating that two persons, namely Sanjeewa Gunathilake and Anuruddha Athukorale, met him with the Vice Chairman of Wallalavita Pradeshiya Sabha and complained that a woman called Grace Damayanthi defrauded them of Rs 150,000 by using the Private Secretary’s name, promising them jobs in Italy. They had also said the culprit had produced a bogus agreement to defraud them and told them to deposit Rs 150,000 to the account of the Ministers Private Secretary at Peoples Bank in Mathugama.

The CID said they were trying to find out whether the culprit had actually used the name of the Minister’s Secretary to commit fraud.

On questioning the private secretary, she had told them that she had met Grace Damayanthi at the Labour Ministry during her tenure at the Ministry, but she does not know what happened to her after that.

The CID said it is necessary to probe the transactions that had taken place in the alleged account at the Mathugama Peoples Bank during the period June 01 to June 30 and moved to order the bank to provide details of transactions that took place in the account during that period.

The Magistrate allowing the application ordered the CID to file their findings on December 05.