By Maheesha Mudugamuwa The Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) is “coming down hard” on illegal recruitment agencies for overseas jobs; especially for West Asia, Foreign Employment Deputy Minister Manusha Nanayakkara said. In 2015, 93 cases have been filed and 179 cases were filed in 2016, while in 2017, the number has gone up to 248, according to the Deputy Minister. The bureau has recorded over 163 cases against illegal recruitment agencies from January to July this year. Nanayakkara assured stern legal action against those agencies. “We are coming down hard on illegal recruitment because we still find lots of agents who are not registered; they are able to fool people by showing them what they will get abroad,” he added. According to SLBFE statistics, the highest number of cases was filed against an agency that defrauded people claiming to provide jobs in Seychelles. According to the Deputy Minister, 135 cases had been filed at the Mahara Magistrate Court. Nineteen cases have been filed against an institution which defrauded more than Rs. 50 million from 19 people exceeding the Government approved charges to provide jobs in Israel. Another case has been filed against a woman who had operated an illegal employment agency in Hambantota by defrauding 17 people for more than Rs. 120 million, promising fisheries jobs in Somalia.