The Police, the Customs Department, and the political establishment are perceived as the most corruption-prone institutions in Sri Lanka, according to a nationwide survey conducted by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC).
Releasing the findings at a seminar in Colombo on Thursday, CIABOC Chairman Neil Iddawela said the survey was carried out last year as part of the Commission’s national anti-corruption action plan. The Police topped the list of institutions most susceptible to bribery and corruption, followed closely by politics, the Customs Department, the Department of Immigration and Emigration, the Education Ministry and schools, the Land Registry, Provincial Councils, the Foreign Employment Bureau, Divisional Secretariats, the Registrar General’s Department, and the judiciary.
Iddawela noted that while public perception highlighted these bodies, CIABOC’s investigations identified five institutions with the gravest impact on the national economy: the Customs, the Inland Revenue Department and provincial revenue offices, the Excise Department, the Department of Immigration and Emigration, and the Department of Motor Traffic. He also flagged the National Gem and Jewellery Authority and the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau as regulatory agencies vulnerable to financial misconduct and money laundering.
“Corruption is not simply a consensual transaction between two parties,” Iddawela said. “It thrives where law enforcement is weak, where corrupt practices are normalized, and where citizens remain unwilling to act. We must understand that corruption is not harmless bargaining—it is a serious offence under the law.”
The seminar, themed “Integrity, Transparency, and Good Governance for National Development,” was jointly organised by the Sri Lanka Administrative Service Association and the Sri Lanka Institute of Administrative Professionals.
The findings come at a time when public confidence in state institutions is already battered by economic hardship and political instability. Analysts warn that unless urgent measures are taken to restore trust and integrity in public service, corruption will continue to drain state revenues, weaken governance, and derail recovery efforts.
CIABOC officials said the survey will guide future anti-corruption strategies, with particular focus on revenue-earning agencies that are vital to economic stability.
