Cash-strapped Sri Lanka announced on Tuesday it would sell long-term visas to attract desperately needed foreign currency after the island nation ran out of dollars to pay for food and fuel. Foreigners who deposit a minimum of$ 100, 000 locally will be granted permission to live and work in Sri Lanka for 10 years under the “ Golden Paradise Visa Programme, ” the government said. The money should be locked in a local bank account for the duration of the stay, the government said in a statement.“

Criminals, he claimed, were funneling dollars out of the country’s banking system.... Nearly a year later, Sri Lanka lies in economic ruin, with basic food items scarce, hospitals out of medicine and lines for fuel stretching for blocks as the country’s foreign reserves all but run out.... The latest to go: Mahinda Rajapaksa, the patriarch and prime minister, who was evacuated from his home this week after setting off clashes that left eight people dead across the country....