Commission itself has withdrawn 50% of bribery cases – an audit report reveals

A recent report by the National Audit Office reveals that half of the cases assigned to the Bribery or Corruption Investigation Commission in 2022 have been withdrawn for various reasons.
Accordingly, in 2022 alone, 89 bribery cases were filed by the Commission, of which 45 cases were withdrawn later. It is stated in the report that only twenty cases were reassigned out of the withdrawn cases.
Meanwhile, the report shows that the accused in 18 cases assigned by the Commission were acquitted in 2021, and only the accused in 11 cases were found guilty.
The Commission completed 69 cases in 2021, but 40 cases were later withdrawn. It is 58% of the total number of cases that year.
In the meantime, the audit report shows that there were 1,508 unfinished files in the Commission’s legal department. The audit report also shows that 489 of these files belong to more than five years.
The audit officials also state that 926 unfinished files remained until December 31 last year, but the reports were not submitted for the audit.
It is stated in this latest audit report that although three and a half years have passed since implementing the National Action Plan to eliminate bribery and corruption in Sri Lanka, only 11 of the 27 tasks mentioned in it have been implemented.
Meanwhile, the Audit Office has indicated in its latest audit report that there were 36 senior-level vacancies, 203 tertiary-level vacancies, 158 secondary-level vacancies, 56 primary-level vacancies and 15 investigative staff vacancies in the Commission.
Among the bribery cases that have been withdrawn, some cases have caused controversy in this country, especially those related to politicians.