CIABOC’s Big Test – Will AKD Walk the Talk on Corruption?

The political grapevine is buzzing that the Bribery Commission is sharpening its knives, and the first big scalp could be Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody.

The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) has reopened a 2015 file from the Fertiliser Corporation, where Jayakody stands accused of misappropriating Rs. 8 million. At the time, he chaired the tender board that awarded a controversial contract now under scrutiny.

Sources say the file has already landed on the desk of Director General Ranga Dissanayake, who has passed it to the legal division. The plan is to file indictments in the High Court against Jayakody and two others.

This is no isolated move. So far, CIABOC has cleared 69 cases for legal action, with Jayakody’s sitting at No. 49 and 25 already at indictment stage. In other words, a queue of cases is waiting, and more political names may surface.

For AKD’s government, this is shaping up as the first true litmus test of its anti-corruption drive. Will CIABOC be allowed to proceed unhindered and drag a sitting minister into court? Or will the old habits of back-scratching and cover-ups return under a new banner?

Whispers in the corridors of power suggest some ministers are nervous, others are smug, and the public is watching to see if this is the dawn of accountability or just another chapter of political theatre.