Clerk arrested for defrauding Customs

A Customs Salaries Division clerk was arrested yesterday in connection with a fraud amounting to more than Rs.26.1 million.

The fraud is alleged to have been carried out for about five years with a substantial amount of money being siphoned off from the monthly salaries of Customs’ employees.

Investigations have revealed that the clerk had set up 14 bank accounts to which he had deposited the money.

The fraud is alleged to have been carried out for about five years

The arrest was made after the CID carried out an investigation based on a complaint lodged by Customs Additional Director General A. Senanayake.

The clerk, who is a resident of Gampaha, is alleged to have siphoned off the money while crediting the salaries of 2058 employees to their accounts at a state bank. The CID said this clerk was arrested by the Colombo Fraud Bureau over a similar offence where he was alleged to have stolen Rs.500,000 while working at the Defence Ministry to which he was transferred after five years at the Customs.