The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) has identified around 34,000 individuals liable for penalties over late submission of asset declarations, Director General Ranga Dissanayake told Parliament’s Committee on Public Finance (COPF).

The disclosure came during a discussion of the Commission’s funding, Hiru News reported. Answering questions from COPF Chairman Dr. Harsha de Silva, Dissanayake said there was currently no money in the relevant fund, though further funds were expected.

De Silva suggested the Commission impose higher fines where the law permits, noting the resulting revenue could meet some of its own requirements — and remarked that penalties levied on so large a group could even cover the vehicles the Commission needs.

This fills a gap in the record

The figure answers a question that has been open since the enforcement cycle began. When CIABOC set a 30 September deadline for late filers to explain their delays, neither of the two newsrooms that carried the notice said how many people it affected. That deadline has now passed, and 34,000 is the first published count of those exposed to it.

The underlying requirement is the 2026 Annual and Post-Retirement Declarations of Assets and Liabilities, due by 30 June. Penalties under Section 90 of the Anti-Corruption Act, No. 9 of 2023 are calculated by the number of days a submission was late. Declarations filed under the Act have also become accessible to the public.

The Commission answers a bias charge

De Silva also put to the Commission the allegation that it has disproportionately pursued people linked to the Opposition.

Dissanayake said CIABOC is working through a substantial backlog of investigations, including complaints dating back many years, and that this is why a number of Opposition-linked figures appear in cases already pending. He said the Commission could drop older complaints and take only new ones, but had instead given priority to establishing a special unit to finish longstanding investigations — citing one file dating back to 2005.

Not reported

Neither account states the per-day penalty rate, the total revenue the 34,000 cases might raise, how many of those identified have already offered reasons for their delay, or how many were accepted. Neither says what happens to people who have not filed at all, as distinct from filing late.