• More than Rs. 10 m alleged to have been claimed improperly

The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) has launched an investigation into claims that a group of postal employees wrongfully obtained over Rs. 10 million in overtime (OT) payments.

In response to a complaint lodged last year (2025) by a civil society organisation, CIABOC Secretary K.G. Lanerolle has informed that the Commission had decided to proceed with an investigation after reviewing the complaint.

The allegation first surfaced after Postmaster General Ruwan Sathkumara disclosed late last year that several audit inquiries had revealed that OT payments exceeding Rs. 10 million had been claimed by a large number of postal employees without proper fingerprint verification. He alleged that certain employees had inflated working hours and included unnecessary staff members when claiming OT payments for duties such as vehicle servicing. 

Following these revelations, the Government attempted to introduce fingerprint machines to record attendance of postal employees. However, employees protested against the move and launched strike action in response. Despite the protests, the Government maintained that the installation of fingerprint machines would proceed in order to properly monitor attendance and OT claims.