Sri Lanka’s Bribery Commission has arrested Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) national organiser and parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa over an investigation into the acquisition of Airbus aircrafts for SriLankan Airlines.
Namal Rajapaksa appeared before the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) this morning after being summoned to provide a statement concerning the transaction. He was taken into custody after several hours of questioning and has subsequently been remanded in prison.
The investigation concerns the proposed acquisition in 2013 of six Airbus A330 and eight A350 aircraft by SriLankan Airlines, during the presidency of Namal’s father, former president Mahinda Rajapaksa. According to the Daily Mirror, the alleged bribe was worth Rs 100 million.
Ada Derana reported that case had already implicated former SriLankan Airlines chief executive Kapila Chandrasena and his wife, Priyanka Niyomali Wijenayake, over allegations relating to a bribe connected to the aircraft deal.
Chandrasena was arrested on 12 March under an investigation conducted by the Bribery Commission under the Anti-Corruption Act and was subsequently released on bail.
He was later found dead at a relative’s home on 8 May, while still on bail. Police suspected suicide, although the circumstances surrounding his death remain unresolved.
The former airline chief had also made a controversial allegation to investigators in March. Chandrasena told investigators that he had handed Rs. 60 million in alleged kickbacks to Mahinda Rajapaksa. His death came shortly before he was due to be rearrested in connection with the case.
Meanwhile, arrest warrants remain outstanding for Chandrasena’s wife, who is named as the second suspect, and Shamindra Rajapaksa, named as the third suspect in proceedings before the Fort Magistrate’s Court on the Airbus transaction.
The investigation has also expanded beyond Sri Lanka. Representatives of Airbus’s parent company in France travelled to Sri Lanka in early August and gave statements to CIABOC in connection with the investigation.
Rajapaksa, the son of former Sri Lankan president and war criminal Mahinda Rajapaksa, has previously faced investigations over alleged financial irregularities.
In January 2025, Sri Lanka’s Attorney General indicted him over allegations that he misappropriated Rs. 70 million provided by Indian company Krish Lanka for rugby development. He has also been investigated over an alleged Rs. 15 million money-laundering transaction involving NR Consultancy.
In November 2023, however, Rajapaksa was acquitted by the Colombo High Court in a separate money-laundering case involving Gowers Corporation. More recently, the Criminal Investigation Department launched an investigation into allegations concerning his legal qualifications and admission to Sri Lanka Law College, which he has denied.