TISL urges CIABOC to reconsider unwarranted redacting of asset declarations to public

The Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) yesterday expressed deep concern over a significant amount of crucial information that has been arbitrarily and unnecessarily redacted in asset declarations of over 100 eligible persons.

It said information such as bank balances and the dates on which accounts were opened were not revealed, raising serious concerns as to the transparency and effectiveness of these declarations. TISL said the asset declarations of over 100 persons who are obligated to submit their asset and liabilities declarations, including top officials and the President, are now publicly accessible on the Asset Declarations webpage of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC). 

 This is an interim measure to make asset declarations public under the Anti-Corruption Act No. 09 of 2023 (ACA), while CIABOC establishes a centralised electronic system in compliance with the law. 

While this step towards public transparency is a welcome move, TISL said concerns have emerged regarding the extent of information being made available.

According to Section 88(1) of the Anti-Corruption Act, only specific information in the asset declarations shall be redacted:

a. The address of the residence of the declarant or of any other person, whose assets are declared      by the declarant;

b. Full address/es of declared real estate except information pertaining to the ward and district in which the real estate is situated;

c. Date of birth, National Identity Card number, Passport number or any other number recognised by the relevant authorities for the purpose of identification of individuals mentioned in the declaration

d. Bank account numbers; or

e. Any other deposit details

TISL said it appears the authority has taken a very broad approach of interpretation to redact crucial information such as bank balances and dates, in complete disregard of the spirit and intention of the law, thereby defeating the purpose of making asset declarations publicly available. The provision in ACA 88(1)(e) stating “any other deposit details” appears to be misinterpreted. The intention of this provision, seemingly, is to refer to ‘any other’ deposit types that are not bank accounts following the mentioning of ‘bank accounts’ specifically in 88(1)(d). Had the provision intended to include bank account balances, Section 88(1)(d) would have provided for ‘bank account balances and numbers’.

Such arbitrary misinterpretation of the Act undermines the purpose of the asset declaration system and public access to the same, rendering its implementation ineffective. This potential creation of a loophole to skirt the law by public officials and responsible institutions is deeply concerning, and breeds mistrust in the CIABOC’s commitment to effective implementation of the anti-corruption law.

Furthermore, the ACA mandates the CIABOC to verify the identity of individuals requesting redacted asset declarations, which could be done through the collection of the name, National Identity Card number and telephone number. Despite this, CIABOC has introduced a mandatory email address requirement, which is not necessary for identity verification, particularly when essential identifiers are already required. TISL is concerned that this unnecessary and unmandated requirement creates an additional barrier, restricting access to asset declarations to a large number of the public across the country.

TISL said making asset declarations public is a recommendation by the International Monetary Fund that is now an element in the Government Action Plan for implementation. One of the objectives is to enable the public to monitor potential unjust enrichment by public officials, which is undermined by the actions of CIABOC with its unnecessary extent of redaction. For public access to be meaningful in the current reform process, 

TISL urged the CIABOC to reconsider the extent of the current redactions in the spirit of fully implementing the law, ensuring that crucial and sufficient information is available for citizens in holding public officials accountable. Swift action needs to be taken, considering the effective utilisation of such publicly accessible asset declarations, especially in implementing upcoming laws on Proceeds of Crime and Beneficial Ownership.