MP Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thera said that weak systems of the Immigration and Emigration Department have paved the way for many fraudulent activities. Raising the issue of many wanted criminals being able to leave the country without being detected by the immigration despite travel bans being imposed on them.
The Thera that due to the present system, the Immigration and Emigration Department does not have an efficient database, which has enabled criminals to escape the country.
“I would like to ask the Minister in charge if he knew that when a person applies for a passport, the forms and documents submitted by the applicant are returned to them after the passport is issued.
They are required to hold onto these documents for a period according to the law, but no one is aware of it. This is the reason that these criminals are able to forge documents and exploit the weak system,” the Thera said.
Raising a question under Standing Orders 27/2, the Thera questioned what authority the Commissioner of Immigration and Emigration has to return the documents to the applicant on the basis that they should hold onto it for 10 years for legal purposes if so required. “Why do they return these original documents to the applicant without storing them at the department? This is what has paved the way for these criminals to make fake passports,” the Thera said.
The Thera said that this country has become a haven for crooks, terrorists and extremists and has enabled those like criminal Makandure Madush, the bond scam crooks and many other criminals to escape the country undetected.
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