Officials from the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) have arrested a deputy commissioner of the Eastern Provincial Department of Revenue for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs. 200,000. The operation was initiated following a complaint from a resident of Chenkaladi, Batticaloa.
The complaint arose after the resident purchased a 65-perch plot of land in the Sathurukondan area for Rs. 10 million and subsequently paid Rs. 600,000 in stamp duty. However, the provincial revenue office later assessed the land’s value at Rs. 26.5 million. Consequently, the official informed the resident that he would need to pay a government fee of Rs. 850,000 in addition to a fine.
To mitigate these costs, the deputy commissioner allegedly solicited a bribe of Rs. 200,000 to reduce the amount owed to the government. CIABOC officials conducted a raid and arrested the deputy commissioner while he was accepting the bribe at the Eastern Province Department.
