Sri Lankan Parliament unanimously approves key anti-corruption bill

Colombo, Apr 8 (PTI) Sri Lankan Parliament Tuesday unanimously approved the Proceeds of Crime bill, a move aimed at fighting corruption and fraud.

Minister of Justice Harshana Nanayakkara, while presenting the bill, told parliament that billions have been lost due to corruption and fraud.

The law will empower authorities to trace, freeze, and seize assets and property linked to unlawful activities.

Nanayakkara said that the National People's Power government has been entrusted with a public mandate to free the country of corruption. He said that politicians from the previous regimes, accused of corruption, would be severely dealt with by the new law.

At least three former ministers are currently in custody for varying acts of alleged corruption.

The opposition leaders said they were not against the law but urged the government not to misuse the legislation for political revenge. They claimed that the preliminary work on the new law was done when they were in the government.

The law was also part of the International Monetary Fund's governance diagnostic recommendations needed to tackle corruption.

The IMF governance diagnostic analysis in 2023 said that there exists “systematic and severe governance weaknesses and corruption vulnerabilities across state functions with particular macroeconomic impact in budget credibility”. PTI CORR ZH ZH

Source: PTI