There is a phenomenal increase in white-collar crimes in Sri Lanka, says Gamini Nawarathna, Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) – Central Province and Elections.

"Cheque frauds, forged deeds, fraudulent job agencies and vehicle rental companies, ‘doubling money’ rackets and bigamy are some of the major white-collar crimes now on the increase in the country, he warned.

In the Central province alone, 597 white-collar crimes were reported during the year 2008 and the first half of 2009, he said at the recent ceremony to mark the opening of a Public Security Information Help Desk at the Nuwara Eliya police headquarters, to fight this growing threat.

He said that records show that in the Central province alone, 597 people had fallen victim to illegal activities of 364 white-collar criminals during this period.

The loss suffered by these innocent victims in terms of money and property was Rs. 279 million, the senior DIG pointed out.

"We must battle this menace effectively and prevent innocent, unsuspecting people from falling victim to the wiles of racketeers", Nawarathna stressed. "This is a big challenge we face as law enforcement officers".

He said that apart from the Nuwara Eliya/Hatton divisions, similar Public Security Information Help Desks have also been set up in Kandy, Gampola, Matale and Dambulla.

Members of the public can turn to these ‘Help Desks’ for more information on persons they intend to strike a deal with or transact any form of business. The police could then help by providing the required information including any adverse past records of the person/s concerned.

"This will go a long way in preventing such white-collar crimes", Nawarathna noted. "Members of the public would not fall prey to these shady elements if they are fore-warned".

"What is more important is to prevent these crimes rather than deal with the post scenario experience and prosecute the offenders in courts", he underscored. "No proper preventive measures have been adopted so far to counter this growing threat".

Scores of unsuspecting people are being duped and millions of rupees are being defrauded by these criminals, he said. "The time has come to crack down hard on these fraudsters and racketeers".

Nawarathna said the Public Security Information Help Desks are equipped with computerized records of white-collar criminals – those who had been convicted, on bail or evading arrest.

"This kind of information is very useful to prevent innocent people falling into trouble", he said. "Public access to information is a key factor in the preventive mechanism".

D. P. G. Kumarasiri, District Secretary of Nuwara Eliya, said the potent threat posed by white-collar criminals call for effective police action.

He recalled a bigamy case, where he witnessed how an innocent woman had to go through agony after falling prey to an impostor.