Two men have been arrested in the Negombo area on suspicion of involvement in a pyramid financial scheme, Hiru News reported.
Police said the arrests were made on Tuesday during an investigation carried out on a complaint received by the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID).
The investigation covers the operation, promotion, advertising, financing and management of a pyramid financial institution. The suspects are aged 45 and 59 and are residents of the Thimbirigaskatuwa and Negombo areas.
The FCID is conducting further inquiries.
Context
Operating or promoting a pyramid scheme is an offence in Sri Lanka, and the Central Bank has repeatedly warned the public against schemes that pay returns out of money collected from later entrants rather than from any underlying business. The regulator named several app-based schemes in an August warning, noting that participants in such arrangements may themselves face prosecution.
Not reported
Hiru gives no figure for the amount of money involved, the number of people affected, or the name of the scheme or institution. It does not say whether the suspects have been produced before a court, whether they have been named, or whether assets have been frozen.
No other verified newsroom had carried the arrests at the time of writing.
