FINANCIAL CHRONICLE – Namal Rajapaksa, an opposition member of parliament and son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, has been apprehended by Sri Lanka’s anti-corruption agency in connection with a controversial Airbus transaction from 2014. He is accused of accepting a bribe amounting to Rs. 100 million.
The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) took Rajapaksa into custody after questioning him for five hours regarding the deal associated with the acquisition of an Airbus aircraft for the state-owned SriLankan Airlines during his father’s presidency. Following his arrest, he was presented in court and remanded until September 18.
Prior to his arrest, Rajapaksa stated to FINANCIAL CHRONICLE that he believed the government’s actions were an attempt to divert attention from their failure to deliver on electoral promises. “I am not concerned about the arrest. Ultimately, they will need to substantiate their claims,” he remarked.
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The CIABOC indicated that Rajapaksa’s questioning was part of an ongoing investigation prompted by statements from a Sri Lankan businessman and testimonies provided by Airbus company officials in France, along with various documents and evidence collected during the inquiry.
In a related case, a British court determined that the French aircraft manufacturer had paid $2 million to a shell company established in Brunei under the name of the spouse of former SriLankan Airlines CEO Kapila Chandrasena. Chandrasena was found dead under suspicious circumstances in May this year while facing arrest in connection with the same case.
The Airbus transaction is among the numerous contentious dealings that occurred during Mahinda Rajapaksa’s administration, and extensive investigations have been initiated following the British court’s findings.
In March, the CIABOC disclosed that Chandrasena allegedly conspired with his wife and others to create a shell company in Brunei, open a bank account in Singapore under the company’s name, and receive €1,454,645.54 as a bribe from the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company. It was reported that Chandrasena subsequently transferred the bribe to his own account at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and to several other individuals, including the former Director General of SriLankan Airlines.
Chandrasena and his spouse, Priyanka Wijenaike, were initially remanded in February 2020 following the British court’s findings that Airbus had routed $2 million to Biz Solutions Inc., a shell company created in Brunei in 2012. Investigators discovered that the funds were then moved to the company’s account in Singapore.
Chandrasena held the position of CEO of SriLankan Airlines from July 2011 to February 2015, coinciding with Mahinda Rajapaksa’s second term in office. Documents from the British court in 2020 indicated that his wife acted as an intermediary for the procurement of Airbus aircraft, with Airbus purportedly offering a bribe of $16 million.
In March of the previous year, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Sri Lanka’s Police interrogated Namal Rajapaksa regarding his alleged receipt of commissions from the Airbus deal during his father’s tenure. He was questioned for over four hours based on testimony from a state witness linked to the case, who claimed to have facilitated cash transfers from the Airbus deal to Rajapaksa.
Namal Rajapaksa has denied the allegations, asserting that the new government is attempting to attribute various unexplained wealth issues to the Rajapaksa family. Both international and local investigations have strongly suggested the presence of bribery and misappropriation in the 2013 Airbus deal. (Colombo/September 04/2026)
