Sri Lanka’s Colombo Port City Economic Commission (CPCEC) has facilitated 14,300 foreign worker visas while operating with only 16 staff and does not actively follow up after workers enter the country on 30-day landing endorsements, officials told the Committee on Public Finance (COPF), according to local media reports in Colombo.
The disclosure came during an inquiry on 8 October, chaired by Dr Harsha de Silva, into visa violations following the deportation of five Chinese nationals in August. The commission subsequently suspended visa recommendations for two Port City Authorised Persons (APs). Officials said the five Chinese nationals were deported from Bandaranaike International Airport after failing to explain the purpose of their arrival or identify their employers. The suspensions were lifted within a month after joint inspections.
Dr de Silva highlighted regulatory gaps in responding to suspected cybercrime, noting that the five deportations were based on visa violations rather than cybercrime charges. He also questioned whether Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and blockchain companies operating outside Port City Colombo could be used by cyber-scam operations displaced from Southeast Asia.
Citing immigration statistics for the first quarter of 2026, Dr de Silva said arrivals from Cambodia had increased by 70%, those from Vietnam by 258% and those from Myanmar by 458%. Myanmar has been identified in the inquiry as a major hub for cyber-scamming and offshore gaming. He added that the Chinese and Vietnamese embassies had urged Sri Lankan authorities to take decisive action to protect the country’s reputation and banking sector.
CPCEC Director of Finance Ruwan Karunaratne told the committee that foreign workers received 30-day landing endorsements, while Authorised Persons were required to submit monthly details of employees and their residences and notify local police.
Opposition MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam questioned who was accountable when foreign workers engaged in illegal activities. Officials said visa violations fell under the jurisdiction of the Department of Immigration and Emigration.
The commission’s staffing levels came under particular scrutiny when officials confirmed that the organisation had only 16 employees. Rasamanickam noted that the 14,300 visas amounted to an average of more than 200 foreign personnel per Business of Strategic Importance (BSI).
“So out of that 16, you’re telling us they are going to periodically conduct random visits on 14,000 people?” he asked, adding that unannounced inspections of offices operating outside Port City in Colombo could reveal a different picture.
The committee also examined the vetting of 67 to 68 secondary BSIs approved by the commission. Parliamentary researchers identified companies registered in tax havens, including the British Virgin Islands, with minimal capital commitments and unclear beneficial ownership.
Among the entities cited were Ace Global Management Services, granted BSI status with a commitment of $10,000, and Fortitude Innovations, approved with $2,500. Bridgeton Global Ltd., Taken Technologies and Xeptagon Information Technology had no identifiable parent company.
Committee members questioned how such businesses could obtain BSI status, qualify for tax concessions and secure quotas to sponsor hundreds of foreign workers.
The COPF directed the commission to submit, within two weeks, a complete inventory of all 67 BSIs identifying companies that had sponsored foreign labour. The submission must include the headcount, nationalities, length of stay and verified job roles of all 14,300 foreign workers, together with beneficial ownership records for registered offshore entities.
