The Colombo High Court sentenced three former Customs Superintendents and an Assistant Customs Superintendent to 35 years of rigorous imprisonment each after convicting them to all charges in the indictment the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption served against them on 09.07.2021. They were indicted for soliciting a bribe of Rs. 150 Million and accepting Rs. 125 Million from the complainant of this case, promising to halt the investigations of Sri Lanka Customs conducted on bus spare parts imported for Sri Lanka Transport Board from Steel Impex Industries, India., duty-free, and to release him from paying the duty. The Court further ordered each accused to pay a fine of Rs. 125 Million to the government.

The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption filed indictments against an Excise Officer of Thangalla Excise Office for accepting Rs. 5000/- from the complainant of this bribery case for abstaining from taking legal action against her husband.

Based on a complaint made by a woman of Mattumagala area in Ragama, Investigation Officers of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption arrested the Principal of a primary school in Ragama on charges of soliciting and accepting Rs. 150,000/- as a bribe to admit the complainant’s child into Grade one for the year 2025. The arrest was made at around 4.00 p.m. on 07.11.2024 inside the school office.

With the aim of fostering a clean public service, the Udapalatha Pradeshiya Sabha organized a Prevention Programme at its premises to raise awareness of their officers. The programme took place on 23 October 2024.

With the objective of eliminating bribery and corruption to make Sri Lanka a corruption-free nation, the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption delivered a special lecture at the two-day workshop of the Department of Buddhist Affairs held at the National Co-operative Development Institute on 20 October 2024. The lecture was scheduled for the second day and was intended to address on, “A clean public service”. Accordingly, the lecture covered aspects such as integrity, the legal framework relating to bribery and corruption, and the repercussions of bribery and corruption.

Based on a complaint made by a resident of Illawatura, Gampola, Investigation Officers of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption arrested a Chief Police Inspector attached to the Gampola HQI office on allegations of soliciting and accepting a bribe of Rs. 20,000/-. According to the complainant, the Chief Inspector has solicited the bribe to meet the fuel and travelling expenses to come to the Bribery Commission on 25.10.2024 to give a statement to the Commission in relation to an investigation conducted against the complainant. He was arrested at around 5.25 p.m. on 23.10.2024 at a cafeteria near Nuwara Eliya town.

On the invitation of the University of Sri Jayawardenepura, another Awareness Programme of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption conducted for school children to endow a generation devoid of bribery and corruption was jointly organized at the Katagasdigiliya Kone Wewa Siddhartha Vidyalaya, Anuradhapura on 10 October 2024. The event took place in the school’s main hall.

The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) has recognized enhancing integrity-related education and reaching out to the younger generation as key factors in strengthening the long-term fight against corruption. Following this principle, CIABOC's Prevention Unit conducted a program for Ocean University's academic and non-academic staff on October 3, 2024.

The Commission’s Prevention Unit conducted a Corruption Prevention Programme for 52 Labour Officers of North-Central and North-Western Provinces and was held on 05 October 2024 at “Mahagedara” Government Conference Hall, Kurunegala. The resource contribution was provided by Prevention Officers of the Commission, Mrs. J. L. A. Udeshika Madhubashini and Mrs. M. A. Rushanthi Dilshani, and by Senior Lecturer of the University of Kelaniya Mr. Tharindu Dananjaya Weerasinghe. The participants were made aware of positive thinking, preventing bribery and corruption and its consequences, the issues they have in that regard, the concept of integrity, and the new Anti-Corruption Act.

Based on some information received, the Confidential and Intelligence Investigation Unit of this Commission conducted investigations regarding vehicles that did not undergo the Customs clearance process and one such Mistibishi Jeep taken into custody was produced before the Court on 11.10.2024. Colombo Chief Magistrate Thilina Gamaga ordered Sri Lanka Customs to take the vehicle into their custody for further investigations.

This year, the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption organized a friendly debate to mark World Children’s Day, commemorated on 01st October each year. The debate, aimed at making Sri Lanka a clean nation by eliminating bribery and corruption, was conducted on the topic “Implementation of laws alone is not adequate to eliminate bribery and corruption to make Sri Lanka a clean and upright nation”. The debate was held between the students of Anula Vidyalaya, Nugegoda and Royal College, Colombo.

Based on a complaint made by a resident in Chenkalady, Batticaloa, Investigation Officers of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption arrested a Deputy Commissioner of the Eastern Province Inland Revenue Department on allegations of soliciting and accepting a bribe of Rs. 200,000/-. According to the complainant, he has bought a 65 perch land in the Sathurukondan area in Batticaloa for Rs. 10 Mn. and has paid Rs. 0.6 Mn as its stamp duty. Later, the Provincial Department of Inland Revenue has informed him that the assessed value of the land is Rs. 26.5 Mn and the government fee payable for it with a fine is Rs. 0.85 Mn. A Deputy Commissioner of the Department has then solicited Rs. 200,000/- to do the needful to bring down the said amount to Rs. 200,000/-. The Deputy Commissioner was arrested at the Eastern Province Inland Revenue Department in Batticaloa at around 12.45 p.m. on 15.10.2024 while accepting the bribe.