With 43 MPs claiming approximately Rs. 1.2 billion in total as compensation payments for property damaged during the 2022 citizens’ uprising (‘Aragalaya’), the spotlight has turned to their assets and declarations. 

Speaking in Parliament on 6 February, Cabinet Spokesperson Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa questioned whether those who were in power had pressured Government officials to value their properties higher to obtain the following payouts: 

• Kapila Nuwan Athukorala – Rs. 504,000
• Wimalaweera Dissanayake – Rs. 550,000
• ⁠Geetha Kumarasinghe – Rs. 972,000
• ⁠Janaka Thissa Kuttiarachchi – Rs. 1.143 million
• Gunapala Rathnasekara – Rs. 1.41278 million
• Premnath C. Dolawatte – Rs. 2.3 million
• Piyankara Jayaratne – Rs. 2.348 million
• Sampath Athukorala – Rs. 2.54061 million
• Jayantha Ketagoda – Rs. 2.8148 million
• Wimal Weerawansa – Rs. 2.954 million
• ⁠Prof. Channa Jayasumana – Rs. 3.334 million
• ⁠Akila Ellawala – Rs. 3.55425 million
• Chamal Rajapaksa – Rs. 6.539374 million
• Chandima Weerakkody – Rs. 6.9488 million
• ⁠Ashoka Priyantha – Rs. 7.295 million
• Samanpriya Herath – Rs. 10.502 million
• Janaka Bandara Tennakoon – Rs. 10.55 million
• Rohitha Abeygunawardena – Rs. 11.64 million
• Dr. Seetha Arambepola – Rs. 13.78 million
• Sahan Pradeep – Rs. 17.13 million
• Shehan Semasinghe – Rs. 18.51 million
• ⁠Indika Anuruddha – Rs. 19.55 million
• ⁠Milan Jayathilaka – Rs. 22.3 million
• Dr. Ramesh Pathirana – Rs. 28.1 million
• Duminda Dissanayake – Rs. 28.8 million
• Kanaka Herath – Rs. 29.2 million
• D.B. Herath – Rs. 32.1 million
• Prasanna Ranaweera – Rs. 32.7 million
• W.D. Weerasinghe – Rs. 37.2 million
• Shantha Bandara – Rs. 39.1 million
• ⁠S.M. Chandrasena – Rs. 43.8 million
• ⁠Sanath Nishantha – Rs. 42.7 million
• Siripala Gamlath – Rs. 50.9 million
• Arundika Fernando – Rs. 55.2 million
• Sumith Udukumbura – Rs. 55.9 million
• Prasanna Ranatunga – Rs. 56.1 million
• Kokila Gunawardene  – Rs. 58.7 million
• Mohan P. De Silva – Rs. 60.1 million
• Nimal Lanza – Rs. 69.2 million
• ⁠Ali Sabri Raheem – Rs. 70.9 million
• ⁠Gamini Lokuge – Rs. 74.9 million
• Johnston Fernando – Rs. 93.4 million
• Keheliya Rambukwella – Rs. 95.9 million 

Dr. Jayatissa also said it was important to see if the politicians who claimed millions as compensation payments had actually listed these asset values in their assets and liabilities declarations.

“One politician has said that several ebony chairs and antiques in his house had been destroyed by the fire and that the compensation payments made were insufficient. We will check if these possessions have been declared in their assets and liabilities declarations,” he said.

The Government Valuation Department has done the valuations for the damages, based on reports given to it by various institutions such as the National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) and the Police, it is learnt. However, it is unclear which department handled the compensation payments. A committee functioning under the Public Administration Ministry at the time had also been involved in the process. 

Human rights activist Dr. Prathiba Mahanamahewa raised multiple concerns about this process, questioning whether pressure had been exerted on Government officials and whether insurance payments had been separately collected by the former MPs. 

Speaking to The Sunday Morning, he further pointed to the need to check if their assets and liabilities had been correctly disclosed under the provisions of the Anti-Corruption Act. 

Institutional and political will 

The Anti-Corruption Act (ACA) was enacted in 2023, repealing the former Bribery Act No. 11 of 1954, the  Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) Act, and the Declaration of Assets and Liabilities Law. 

Following the economic crisis in 2022, Sri Lanka received a $ 2.9 billion bailout package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Introducing legislation to address corruption was linked to the package – the first time an IMF programme has been linked to such a measure in Asia. 

The ACA sought to allocate more resources to the Bribery Commission, alongside enhanced independence and wide-ranging powers to address corruption, especially the power to scrutinise the accumulation of assets by public officials such as Members of Parliament (MPs). 

Former Executive Director of Transparency International of Sri Lanka (TISL) and anti-corruption advocate Nadishani Perera told The Sunday Morning that since the ACA had given the Bribery Commission the power to initiate its own investigations into assets declarations or bribery cases, it was now a matter of “institutional will”. 

“They [CIABOC] don’t need to wait for anyone, and they have powers to also get assistance now from any other Government institution. They have the power to hire, pay, and get international expertise. All that is needed now is the political and institutional will to do it,” said Perera. 

Although there are shortcomings in the ACA, Perera said it was still a better law than what existed before and could be used by the CIABOC to win back the trust of the public. 

“They need to demonstrate that they are actually able to use the enhanced power that has been given to them.” 

Digitised system 

The ACA also mandates the establishment of a digitised assets declaration system, accessible to the public. An official at the CIABOC told The Sunday Morning that the system was being delayed due to a lack of funds and a lack of technical assistance. 

In a statement on 15 February, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it was assisting the CIABOC to establish this system, noting that such declarations should be digital and publicly accessible to enhance transparency.

Therefore, ADB, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), is supporting the establishment of an electronic assets declaration system. 

Perera said that such a system must be able to detect ‘red flags’ in assets declarations, such as detecting unusually large amounts of money which cannot be justified on an MP’s salary. 

Amending the ACA 

Furthermore, Dr. Mahanamahewa said that while the ACA was a good act as a starting point, once it was implemented and “experienced,” new amendments could be introduced to improve it. 

He also called for the Constitution to be amended to include anti-corruption as a fundamental human right of the people and then to expedite all cases. 

In December 2024, the Government said that a committee had been appointed to study how the ACA could be amended, following a proposal by the CIABOC, which claimed it had encountered technical problems in carrying out its duties. 

While acknowledging that amendments could be used to better the law, Perera said it was imperative for the CIABOC to still implement the existing one and “genuinely give life” to its provisions. 

New Parliament’s deadline 

Meanwhile, Secretary General of Parliament Kushani Rohanadeera told The Sunday Morning that a number of members of the newly-elected Parliament had already declared their assets. 

“They have time until 27 February to declare their assets, after which we will send them to the CIABOC,” she added. 

Multiple attempts to contact CIABOC Director General R.S.A Dissanayake and Deputy Minister of National Integration Muneer Mulaffer proved futile.