TISL urges Govt. to drop asset declaration curbs

Thursday, 6 August 2026 06:27 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) yesterday urged the Government to withdraw proposed amendments to the Anti-Corruption Act, warning that they would weaken public scrutiny of asset and liability declarations and undermine a key accountability reform.

The organisation said the Anti-Corruption (Amendment) Bill, gazetted on 24 July, would restrict the legitimate use of information contained in asset declarations, expand the discretion of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) to redact information, and remove the requirement to disclose the assets and liabilities of cohabiting partners.

TISL said the proposed restrictions would reduce the effectiveness of asset declarations as a tool to detect unexplained wealth, conflicts of interest, and concealed assets, arguing that meaningful public access enables journalists, civil society, academics, and citizens to hold public officials accountable.

It also warned that criminalising the use of information lawfully made available to the public would infringe the constitutional right to access information and freedom of expression, while discouraging scrutiny that could expose corruption.

The organisation said granting the CIABOC broad discretion to redact information without clear legal criteria risked withholding details necessary for effective public oversight.

TISL further argued that removing disclosure requirements relating to cohabiting partners would create opportunities to conceal wealth through shared households, making it more difficult to identify beneficial ownership and verify declarations.

Noting that the Government was elected on a platform of strengthening transparency and fighting corruption, TISL said the proposed amendments contradicted that mandate by making it harder to examine the wealth of public officials.

The organisation called on the Government to remove the proposed restrictions and related criminal offence, retain disclosure requirements relating to cohabiting partners while protecting their personal details from public disclosure, and clearly define in law the information that may be redacted instead of granting broad administrative discretion.

TISL said asset declarations could serve their purpose only if they contained meaningful information and the public remained free to scrutinise that information.