China reaffirms full support to SL amid arrest of online fraud suspects

2026-03-18 - 11:36

The Chinese embassy in Colombo has reaffirmed their full support to Sri Lankan law enforcement agencies in resolutely cracking down of foreign fraudsters including Chinese nationals, as suspects of online fraud. In a statement, the embassy says that China “is closely following the recent reports that Sri Lankan law enforcement agencies arrested a number of foreign suspects of online fraud, including Chinese nationals.” “Cases like these pose immense harm, and the Chinese Embassy provides full support to Sri Lankan law enforcement agencies in resolutely cracking down on suspects while protecting their legitimate rights and interests in accordance with the law, the statement adds.” The statement further notes : In the world today, crimes of telecom and online fraud are rapidly developing and spreading in various countries and have become a worldwide common danger and a global problem. China has carried out fruitful cooperation with many countries, including Myanmar, Cambodia, and the United Arab Emirates, to combat such fraud in recent years. A great many criminal gangs were smashed and decisive results were achieved, but some criminal groups moved to peripheral countries in Southeast Asia as a result. Due to Sri Lanka’s well-developed telecommunications infrastructure, favorable geographical location, relatively lenient visa policies, as well as the kindness and friendliness of its people, some telecom fraud criminal gangs have moved to Sri Lanka and continue to engage in fraud activities targeting Chinese citizens at home and abroad. That’s why such cases have been increasing in Sri Lanka recently. The Chinese government attaches great importance to this trend, maintains close communication with Sri Lankan law enforcement agencies, and actively promotes China-Sri Lanka anti-online fraud law enforcement cooperation. In order to effectively crack down on telecom fraud and create a strong deterrent, with the joint efforts of both sides, Sri Lankan law enforcement authorities arrested a number of Chinese nationals involved in fraud in 2024, and jointly repatriated them to China in batches in 2025. Relevant cooperation is being continuously advanced. China and Sri Lanka are good partners with a long-standing friendship, who always stand together and support each other. China stands ready to further strengthen cooperation with Sri Lanka, enhance joint investigations and coordination in combating cross-border crimes such as telecom and online fraud, and work together to tackle the challenge of transnational telecom and online fraud. Such efforts will help safeguard the personal safety and property of our two peoples and create a sound environment for deepening all-round practical cooperation between China and Sri Lanka.