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Racket deepens; Italy suspends job visas for Lankans
View(s):The Italian Embassy has put on hold job visas for Sri Lankans after it was revealed that applicants had been selected in questionable circumstances where large sums of money are alleged to have changed hands, officials said.
They said that between 40 to 75 job visas in the domestic category were in limbo at the embassy at present since the applicants approved by the local authorities failed to meet the required criteria but had apparently been chosen under questionable circumstances.
he officials explained that the applicants chosen had been selected by the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) at interviews that started on April 17 this year but failed to convince
Italian embassy officials during the follow-up interviews.
The jobs were listed for ‘caregivers’ and the applicants were required to possess a basic education plus experience among other requirements. But during the visa interview by embassy officials it was revealed that the applicants fell short of these requirements, the officials said.
They said that the applicants were told during the preliminary interviews at the SLBFE that they were required to deposit 1,500 euros in a particular bank account prior to departure.
“This should never be the case since these visas are of a gratis category (free of charge) because it is an agreement between the Italian and Sri Lankan governments,” one official said.
During questioning of the applicants, it was revealed that a former female employee at the Italian Mission in Colombo was also assisting in the interviews that were held at the SLBFE at its office on the 12th floor of the Bank of Ceylon building in Colombo 1.
This former employee, fluent in spoken and written Italian, was sacked from the embassy in 2013 after she was found to be allegedly involved in graft and other irregularities relating to the endorsing of Italian visas and may have been hired by the SLBFE to work as a consultant.
Meanwhile the Ministry of Foreign Employment yesterday denied any knowledge in the so-called interviews for job aspirants in Italy or the hiring of a consultant. A senior official said the matter would be investigated fully.
The SLBFE is only an authority in the foreign employment industry and it does not have a mandate to conduct job interviews since this is carried out by licensed foreign employment agencies throughout the country, Ministry Secretary W.G. Vithanage told the Sunday Times.
“The Ministry is unaware of these developments regarding the interviews carried out by the SLBFE. If that has been the case it was not sanctioned by my office and therefore the matter will be investigated soon,” Mr. Vithanage said.SLBFE Additional General Manager and Media Spokesperson Mangala Randeniya endorsed the views of Ministry Secretary Vithanage saying he too was unaware of the interviews or where they were held.
The latest development comes as the Italian government authorities are pondering the de-listing of Sri Lanka from the job quota after some 400-plus employment visas given to the local authorities went unaccounted last year and are believed to have been sold to individuals for an estimated Rs. 500 million.The alleged scam also led to a major re-shuffle in the Italian embassy’s non-diplomatic staff attached to the visa and supporting sections.
Senior officials at the Italian Embassy were not available for comment and email questions from the Sunday Times remain unanswered