Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa has appeared before the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) this morning (12) to provide a statement regarding the alleged SriLankan Airlines Airbus deal.
Rajapaksa has been called before the Commission based on revelations made by Kapila Chandrasena, the former Chief Executive Officer of SriLankan Airlines and the main suspect in the related case, who alleged that Rs. 60 million from the alleged bribe money was handed over to Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, former Civil Aviation Minister Priyankara Jayaratne, and former SriLankan Airlines board member Willy Gamage have been summoned to appear before the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption.
Willy Gamage appeared before the Commission on Monday (11), provided a statement, and left the premises.
The bribery investigation relates to a transaction proposed during 2012–2013, where SriLankan Airlines planned to retire 13 aircraft and purchase 14 new aircraft.
An agreement was signed with France‑based Airbus to purchase six A330 aircraft and four A350 aircraft.
Allegations that bribes were paid in connection with this deal emerged in January 2020, following an investigation by the UK Serious Fraud Office.
It was revealed that Airbus had agreed to pay a bribe of US$16.84 million to intermediaries involved in the purchase of 10 aircraft.
Investigations further revealed that US$2 million from the alleged bribe had been credited to an account belonging to a company operated in Brunei in the name of the wife of Former SriLankan Airlines CEO Kapila Chandrasena.
Following these revelations, an investigation was launched in Sri Lanka as well.
Findings showed that part of the US$2 million had been transferred on several occasions from a Singapore account to Kapila Chandrasena’s account in Australia. Funds from the same Singapore account were also transferred to two bank accounts in Sri Lanka.
Statements obtained by the Bribery Commission from Chandrasena led to further disclosures.
According to those findings, in 2013, US$160,000 had been transferred from the Singapore account to an account belonging to Shamindra Rajapaksa, a then SriLankan Airlines board member.
Shamindra Rajapaksa is the son of former Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa.
According to Chandrasena’s statements to the Bribery Commission, an additional Rs. 60 million from the alleged bribe money had also been given to former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
He revealed that these payments were made on three occasions starting in 2015.
One of Chandrasena’s lawyers informed the Bribery Commission on March 19 that his client was willing to become a state witness. It is against this backdrop that Mahinda Rajapaksa, Priyankara Jayaratne and Willy Gamage have been summoned before the Commission.
The Airbus transaction was cancelled following the change of government in 2015.
The cost of cancelling the deal alone amounted to US$98 million, a loss incurred without receiving a single aircraft or even spare parts.
The deal is widely regarded as a corrupt transaction that caused Sri Lanka to lose millions of dollars without any tangible benefit.
Meanwhile, Kapila Chandrasena, the former Chief Executive Officer of SriLankan Airlines and the main suspect in the bribery case, was found dead inside a relative’s house last Friday.
Investigations into his death are currently being carried out by the Colombo Crimes Division. Police said that statements have been recorded so far from about 15 individuals, including former cricketer Aravinda de Silva, who is a relative and the owner of the house where Chandrasena’s body was found.
Police also revealed that Kapila Chandrasena, who was under a court warrant, had held discussions with his lawyers regarding judicial proceedings on the day before his death.
Chandrasena, who had previously been remanded and later released on bail in connection with the bribery case, had produced two sureties whom he had reportedly obtained by paying Rs. 15,000 each. After it was revealed that the sureties were hired, court ordered his re‑arrest.
His body was found against this backdrop.
