Suspect arrested over alleged Rs. 24.85 billion foreign currency transfer

Officers of the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) have arrested a suspect residing in the Kotikawatta area in connection with the fraudulent transfer of foreign exchange equivalent to approximately Rs. 24.85 billion to overseas accounts.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the transactions were executed through commercial banking channels using Telegraphic Transfers (TT) underpinned by falsified invoices, bogus import records, and forged company documents.

Investigators are probing whether the scheme formed part of a broader trade-based money laundering operation or illegal money transfer ring operating across multiple foreign jurisdictions. Several bank accounts, communication devices, and financial records belonging to the suspect have been impounded for forensic analysis.

The suspect is scheduled to be produced before the relevant Magistrate's Court, while police continue tracing domestic associates and overseas beneficiaries connected to the transaction trail.