Namal Rajapaksa Arrested by CIABOC Over Alleged Rs 100 Million SriLankan Airlines Bribery Case
Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna National Organiser and Member of Parliament Namal Rajapaksa was arrested on Friday afternoon by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption in connection with an alleged Rs. 100 million bribery scheme involving aircraft procurement for SriLankan Airlines. Investigating officers took the lawmaker into custody at approximately 2:09 p.m.
According to the anti-graft commission, the arrest stems from an extensive probe into illicit payments tied to the national carrier’s aircraft acquisition deals. Investigators allege that a sum of 1,454,651.24 euros was initially remitted as a bribe into an account held under the name BIZ Solutions INC at Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore.
From that amount, 800,000 US dollars was subsequently transferred to an account at OCBC Bank in Singapore registered to Sabre Vision Holdings LTD, an entity owned by a Sri Lankan businessman. CIABOC alleges that Rajapaksa received payments totaling Rs. 100 million from the businessman across multiple occasions during 2014 and 2015, corresponding to the routed offshore funds.
The commission stated that the enforcement action follows evidence gathered throughout the inquiry, including testimony from the Sri Lankan businessman, formal statements provided by officials from France-based aircraft manufacturer Airbus, and relevant documentation secured by investigators.
Rajapaksa is scheduled to be produced before the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court.
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