Namal Rajapaksa Remanded Until September 18 Over SriLankan Airlines Airbus Bribery Probe
Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama on Friday ordered that Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa be remanded in custody until September 18 following his arrest by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption.
The magistrate issued the detention order after hearing arguments presented by Deputy Solicitor General Janaka Bandara on behalf of the Bribery Commission, alongside submissions made by the defense counsel representing the lawmaker.
Rajapaksa was brought before the court on suspicion of accepting an illicit payment of 8 million US dollars in connection with the controversial Airbus aircraft procurement agreement for SriLankan Airlines, a multi-million-dollar transaction that has faced sustained public scrutiny and extensive scrutiny over alleged irregularities.
The arrest took place earlier in the day after the parliamentarian reported to the anti-graft commission to provide an official statement regarding the ongoing investigation. Following nearly five hours of continuous questioning and recording of testimony, investigating officers formally took Rajapaksa into custody and transferred him to the Colombo Magistrate Court for remand proceedings.
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