Parliamentary Committee Recommends Salary Increase for Bribery Commission Officials

20-Oct-2026

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A parliamentary committee has recommended increasing the salaries of senior officials of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) in line with the salary structure applicable to the President of the Court of Appeal.

The Committee on Public Finance has stated that the salaries of the Commission's Chairman, two members and Director-General should be determined based on the remuneration applicable to the Chairman of the Bribery Commission.

The committee, chaired by Dr Harsha de Silva, observed that the Commission had been unable to obtain funds allocated under the Budget due to administrative shortcomings.

Although the Ministry of Finance had requested the Commission to submit its budget estimates, the Commission was required to submit its annual budget estimates directly to the Speaker of Parliament in accordance with the provisions of the Anti-Corruption Act, No. 9 of 2023.

It was also revealed that although 971 positions had been approved for the Commission, only 427 had been filled as of June 30, leaving 544 vacancies.

The Committee on Public Finance was informed that measures were being taken to expedite the disposal of old cases, taking into account the applicable statutory limitation period for offences committed 20 years ago. It was also stated that preliminary inquiries had to be completed within one month to speed up the investigative process.

Although a separate fund had been established for the Commission under Section 26 of the Anti-Corruption Act to meet expenses relating to contract employees and witnesses, additional financial requirements had been met through allocations from the accumulated fund.

The Commission has also stated that it expects to obtain additional funds from the proceeds of assets seized during the current year.