Auditor General slams CIABOC for poor prosecutions; hundreds of cases languishing for over five years

The Auditor General has raised issue over the poor performance of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC).

In its observations on the Annual Performance Report of the CIABOC, the Auditor General’s Department has pointed out that while the Commission had completed 69 cases in 2021, 40 of these cases or 58% were withdrawals.

Accused individuals in 18 cases filed by the Commission were found to be innocent while accused individuals were convicted only in 11 cases. Furthermore, the Commission had filed 89 cases in 2022 and had withdrawn 45 for various reasons. It has sued again only for 20 of those cases at the time of auditing.

The Auditor General has also found that as of December 31, 2021, there were 1,508 pending files in the legal branch of the Commission. A total of 489 out of these were cases older than five years while 33 were over 10 years.

There were 926 pending files as of December 31, 2022, and their time analysis was not submitted for audit.

Cabinet approval was granted for the National Action Plan for Combating Bribery and Corruption in Sri Lanka on February 5, 2019, and implementation of its activities began on

March 18, 2019. Although nearly 3 ½ years have elapsed, 11 out of the 27 activities have not been implemented, the Auditor General’s Department has also observed.

The Bribery Commission is also woefully understaffed, the Auditor General has found. According to the information given on the Commission’s civil staff, there were 36 vacancies in senior-level positions, 203 tertiary-level positions, 158 secondary-level positions, and 56 primary-level positions. There were 15 vacancies for investigation staff.