By: Nalinda Indatissa, PC.
Sri Lanka’s Anti-Corruption Act, No. 9 of 2023 was enacted to prevent corruption, detect it early, and punish offenders effectively. However, laws alone are not enough. They must be supported by systems that make corruption difficult.
One such system is a fully digitised payment system for all transactions—governmental and private.
1. Purpose of the Anti-Corruption Act
(Section 2 – Objects of the Act)
The Act aims to:
Prevent corruption
Promote transparency
Ensure accountability
Strengthen public confidence
A digitised payment system directly supports these goals by making money movements visible and traceable.
In simple terms:
The law wants transparency; digitisation delivers transparency.
2. Bribery and Corruption Depend on Cash
Most bribes are paid in cash because:
Cash leaves no record
Cash is hard to trace
When payments are digitised:
Bribes become harder to give and receive
Illegal payments leave electronic evidence
Digitisation makes bribery risky and detectable, which discourages corruption.
3. Unexplained Wealth Becomes Easier to Prove
The Act allows prosecution where a person:
Has wealth beyond known income
Cannot reasonably explain the source
Digitised payments help by clearly showing:
Lawful income
Actual spending
Hidden or suspicious transactions
This strengthens one of the most powerful provisions of the Act.
4. Electronic Records as Legal Evidence
The Act gives investigators wide powers to:
Obtain bank records
Trace financial transactions
Use documents and electronic data as evidence
Digitised payments:
Automatically generate reliable records
Reduce dependence on witnesses
Strengthen cases in court
Courts decide cases on facts, not rumours.
5. Protection of Public Funds
Many corruption offences involve:
Government payments
Procurement
Licences and approvals
When all government payments are digitised:
Money goes directly to the State
Officers cannot demand “extra payments”
Leakages are reduced
This protects public money, which belongs to the people.
6. Duty to Declare Assets
Public officers must declare:
Income
Assets
Liabilities
Digitised transactions help verify:
Whether declarations are true
Whether income matches lifestyle
False declarations become easier to detect.
7. Prevention Is Better Than Punishment
The new law focuses not only on punishment, but also on prevention.
Digitised payments:
Reduce human discretion
Remove middlemen
Create automatic accountability
Corruption is stopped before it starts.
Conclusion
The Anti-Corruption Act, No. 9 of 2023 provides the legal strength.
A digitised payment system provides the practical strength.
Together, they:
Reduce corruption
Improve enforcement
Protect honest officers
Restore public trust
Cash hides corruption. Digitisation exposes it.
If Sri Lanka is serious about enforcing its anti-corruption law, digitised payments must be treated as a legal necessity, not a luxury.