Bribery Commission DG transferred; TISL condemns

By Aisha Edris and Stanley Samarasinghe
Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) Director General Piyasena Ranasinghe has been transferred to the Presidential Secretariat with immediate effect.

According to Ranasinghe, he was transferred by President Mahinda Rajapaksa to the Secretariat. “I am yet to receive a designation at the Secretariat. I do not know why I was transferred and so I cannot make any further comment on the matter,” he told The Bottom Line.

Meanwhile, Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) has condemned the Presidential order to transfer Ranasinghe. TISL has also expressed shock over the development.

“The Act no 19 of 1994 was introduced by Parliament to ensure independent function of the anti-corruption commission without interference by the President or any other executive arm of the government,” TISL noted.

It further said that the sudden transfer of Ranasinghe will have an adverse impact on the independence of the commission. “It is not only unusual and questionable but also setting an irreversibly bad precedence on the anti-corruption work in the country,” the TISL said in a statement. Lakshmi Jayawickrema has been appointed as the acting Director General of CIABOC.