Dollar smuggling racket linked to 105 firms and 227 accounts allegedly moved millions abroad without importing goods, investigators reveal.
A massive dollar smuggling racket allegedly moved millions of US dollars out of Sri Lanka under the cover of importing goods, causing serious damage to the economy and foreign reserves.
Details of the organized financial crime have now emerged through a revelation made in Parliament by Minister of Public Security Ananda Wijepala, along with investigations carried out by the police and Sri Lanka Customs.
According to the findings, the main tactic used by the suspects was to register multiple companies and mislead the government and banking system into believing they were engaged in genuine business operations.
Through these companies, large sums of money were then transferred overseas using Telegraphic Transfers, commonly known as TTs.
However, investigations have revealed that no goods were actually imported into Sri Lanka in connection with those payments.
Kelaniya Three-Wheeler Cash Opens Bigger Trail
The turning point in the investigation came on October 22, 2025.
Minister Ananda Wijepala stated that the international network began to unravel after officers of the Kelaniya Crime Investigation Division checked a suspicious three-wheeler in Peliyagoda and discovered Rs. 30 million rupees for which no legal source could be provided.
The investigation was later handed over to the Police Central Crime Investigation Bureau.
According to investigators, a suspicious company named Next Gen Private Limited transferred Rs. 1,289 crore, equivalent to US$42.7 million, on 953 occasions to 256 companies in 26 foreign countries.
It has also been confirmed that funds linked to the recent controversial Rs. 13 billion financial fraud at NDB Bank were routed out of the country through this company.
Next Gen Private Limited was registered on July 2, 2025.
Investigators have found that it had only one director and shareholder and had not engaged in any legitimate business activity.
Drug Money Trail Reaches 108 Countries
At the same time, a separate heroin-related raid by Negombo Police exposed another major financial racket.
Following instructions allegedly issued by a drug trafficker operating from Dubai, money deposited in a private bank in Diwulapitiya was transferred to an account belonging to a company named AY Investment in Pettah.
Funds received into that account were withdrawn through cheques every few days and then credited to four other current accounts under the same name at another private bank.
Through those accounts, around Rs. 1,300 crore, or US$43 million, was transferred to 108 foreign countries.
Although those involved claimed that hardware items, bathroom fittings, and gold were being imported, records show that the relevant companies were not registered as importers or exporters with Sri Lanka Customs.
Data Shows Scale Of The Operation
A full investigation conducted jointly by Sri Lanka Customs and the police has revealed the enormous scale of the operation.
Between January 1, 2023, and September 30, 2025, US$26,108 million was earned through 227 bank accounts without any goods being imported.
The transactions involved 105 local companies.
Investigators have found that these 105 companies were operated by just 55 individuals, indicating that the operation was a highly organized network controlled by a single group.
Authorities have also discovered that Telegraphic Transfers were made on 14 occasions in a single day from one bank.
A separate criminal investigation has now been launched into the accountability of certain bank officials who allegedly facilitated those transactions.
Economic And Legal Concerns
Professor Aminda Methsila Perera of the Faculty of Management and Finance at Wayamba University commented on the economic factors that may have enabled such financial crimes.
“Very often, it is illegally earned and untaxed money that is invested this way. Also, although cryptocurrency is not legalized in Sri Lanka, even some politicians have indicated that they have invested their assets in them in their asset declarations. New technology is essential to prevent this,” he said.
Professor Perera further emphasized that the gap between the official dollar rate and the market value during the past period had also encouraged illegal hundi and electronic transfers.
Many of the accounts linked to the racket have already been deactivated.
Special legal action is now being taken after the facts were reported to the President.
Authorities are expected to move against the unseen hands behind what is being described as a massive white-collar crime that directly threatened Sri Lanka’s economy and the foreign exchange reserves of the people.
