The Chinese Embassy on Tuesday said it is closely following the arrest of several of its nationals in Sri Lanka for allegedly being involved in online fraud and process for their repatriation is underway.  

Sri Lankan police said over 230 Chinese nationals between the ages of 22 and 49 have been arrested from different parts of the island in the last fortnight.

The Chinese nationals were arrested for allegedly overstaying their visit visas and being party to online scams conducted from Sri Lanka.

The Chinese Embassy in a statement said it is closely following the recent reports that Sri Lankan police arrested several foreign suspects of online fraud, including Chinese nationals. “Due to Sri Lanka’s advantages in telecommunications infrastructure, geographical location and friendly relations with China, as well as the public lack of awareness on online fraud, some electronic fraud criminal gangs have moved to Sri Lanka and continue to engage in fraud activities targeting Chinese citizens at home and abroad,” the embassy said. The Chinese government has taken note of this and promotes cooperation in the anti-online fraud law enforcement between the two countries, the statement added. 

“In order to effectively crack down on telecom fraud and create a strong deterrent, the Ministry of Public Security of China sent a working group in September to jointly carry out a special operation with the Sri Lankan police.

A large number of criminal suspects were arrested. The repatriation and other work are being steadily advanced,” the embassy said.