When guardians of justice are more corrupt than politics…

How the govt corruption bust could be foiled by its own institutions

Udayanga Weeratunga (L) and Kapila Chandrasena (R)

• High-level corruption in this country is more likely to be investigated by foreign entities than the local courts

Those on all sides of the political divide, and even those who hold reservations, could expect certain good things to come from this government. One area of promise is more than an illusory commitment to fight corruption. Acknowledging that would not make you a sycophant but surely reduce the chances of you being a brazen hypocrite. 

This is not the first government to make combatting corruption a main election slogan. 

However, throughout the past,  the duopoly of politics in this country was immersed in – and fostered- a complex web of corruption and nepotism that entangled not just the elected representatives of both sides of the aisle but also state officials who were supposed to curb corruption.  Corruption and nepotism were tolerated and treated as a necessary evil as much as they were kept to a limit- though soon they broke through all barriers.  They served as veritable glue that kept various individuals and groups together through a network of patronage, which was extended at the expense of public funds. They also helped the elected representatives recoup their election expenses and the officials overseeing justice to secure promotions and diplomatic postings. 

Political slogans

Corruption made good political slogans during the elections and when in the opposition. But, they were ditched when in power in favour of a more transactional system of government. 

The network of patronage that engulfed politics also expanded its tentacles into the state institutions that were supposed to be the guardians of the rule of law, which, in some ways, fostered the culture of impunity for politicians and politically connected cronies.

 That may explain the disturbing absence of a conviction of a single mega-corruption case. It is more likely for high-profile, politically connected wheeler dealers to be held accountable in a foreign court for embezzling the Sri Lankan state than by the local institutions. The disturbing number of cases withdrawn by the Attorney General’s office is a case in point.  

On Monday,  the President noted that in 2021, 69 judicial cases of high-level corruption and abuse of power were concluded, alas, of which 40 cases due to the Attorney general opting to withdraw charges.

In 2022, 89 cases have been filed, and the attorney general has withdrawn 45 instances. 

On Monday, at a ceremony to mark International Anti-Corruption Day, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake delivered a no-hold-barred speech, which was a fitting indictment of the situation in the country.

In a star-studded gathering of politicians, judges, independent commission members, and secretaries of defence and public security, he observed the failure to combat corruption lies in the very gathering – or the institutions those officials represent. 

He asked: “How can a file sent by the CID  to the AG’s Department for legal action be kept for seven-eight years without taking any action? 

“How can a court case get postponed for seven to eight months without a fresh court date? 
“If the problem is here, how can the general public be responsible for this situation?”
“If the problem is here, how can we curb corruption and nepotism in the country?” 

“People in this country have entrusted us and paid us salaries and remunerations with their tax money. But have we delivered justice to the public? NO. In most areas, the power entrusted to the state institutions and officials has been misused to indulge in corruption and abuse of power. Until we have a genuine conviction,  there will be no use, no matter what institutions are established. What I have seen in my life is most people (officials of high authorities) abuse power. Otherwise, a file cannot get stuck in the attorney general’s department for seven years.” 
 The President, being part of Yahapalanaya’s anti-corruption directorate, should  have seen how the system that was meant to curb corruption, at best, does it selectively, and or does barely nothing. 

Anti-corruption crusade 

This, in effect, has turned the entire anti-corruption crusade into a cruel joke on the people. The famous Malwane mansion, allegedly belonging to Basil Rajapaksa, suddenly found to be without an owner.   

High-level corruption in this country is more likely to be investigated by foreign entities than the local courts. For instance, a US court found Jaliya Wickramasuriya, a former ambassador to the United States and a cousin of Mahinda Rajapaksa,  guilty of diverting and attempting to embezzle $332,027 from the government of Sri Lanka during its 2013 purchase of a new embassy building in Washington, D.C.

 Interestingly the Sri Lankan Foreign ministry insisted on the presidential cousin’s diplomatic immunity against prosecution. 

On Monday, the United States imposed sanctions on another Rajapaksa cousin, Udayanga Weeratunga, former ambassador to Russia — and Kapila Chandrasena, former CEO of Sri Lankan Airlines, along with their immediate family members. 

The failure to hold these individuals accountable by the local investigative agencies and the judiciary reveals  that  corruption has engulfed not just the politicians, but also the institutions meant to investigate these crimes. 
That would mean that even with the best intentions of the NPP to fight corruption, judiciary organs, investigative agencies, and independent commissions  would foil the task. That may be due to entrenched vested interest, but also due to the lack of competency.

It was exactly why the international agencies and local advocates have called on the appointments of key members to the commission to investigate bribery and corruption to come from individuals who have a manifest track record, professional credentials and technical skills in the field.

 That could minimise the large number of cases that are regularly dismissed by the courts under technical faults – provided that they were not a deliberate ploy by the investigative agencies at present to let the crooks getaway – in the same way, the confiscated heroin and methamphetamine turned to be wheat flour in the Government Analysts Department. 

The government, no matter how committed in curbing corruption, would not achieve much, unless it overcomes the insidious nexus of corruption and abuse of power within the state institutions meant to combat corruption. Independent institutions and judiciary organs should not be a law unto themselves. A mechanism meant to hold them accountable and exercise oversight over these institutions has been broken. 

The government should probably appoint a commission comprising commonwealth judges, their local counterparts, and other relevant local and international agencies to address the lacuna in the Sri Lankan institution and provide recommendations.