Warrant for Chamal's younger son Shamindra

Fort Magistrate Isuru Nettikumara today (02) ordered the immediate arrest and production in court of Shamindra Rajapaksa, the youngest son of former Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa, in connection with alleged financial irregularities in the deal to purchase Airbus aircraft for SriLankan Airlines. The Magistrate issued this order after considering the submissions made by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) based on the Attorney General's instructions to name Shamindra Rajapaksa as the third suspect in the case related to this questioned transaction.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) revealed in court that serious corruption had occurred during the planning to purchase 10 Airbus aircraft for SriLankan Airlines in 2012 and 2013. The Magistrate instructed the police to seek the assistance of Interpol to arrest Shamindra Rajapaksa, who is reportedly currently residing in the United States of America, and to take necessary steps to issue a red notice against him.

In connection with this incident, former SriLankan Airlines CEO Kapila Chandrasena and his wife have already been named as other suspects and are currently out on bail. According to a revelation made by the UK's Serious Fraud Office in 2020, France's Airbus company had agreed to pay a bribe of USD 16.84 million for this aircraft purchase agreement.

Investigations have confirmed that USD two million of that bribe money was deposited into an account of a company maintained by Mr. Kapila Chandrasena's wife in Brunei, and subsequently, these funds were transferred to accounts in Australia via Singapore. Further investigations have revealed that money was also transferred from Singapore to two bank accounts in Sri Lanka, and one of these accounts belongs to Mr. Shamindra Rajapaksa.

The Criminal Investigation Department has presented evidence that USD one hundred and sixty thousand was deposited into Mr. Shamindra Rajapaksa's bank account in 2013. He served as a member of the Board of Directors that made decisions regarding this transaction, and information has been revealed that related discussions were held at the official residence of the then Speaker. Although investigating officers attempted to obtain a statement from him, it has not been successful so far due to his being abroad, and statements have also been recorded from former Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa regarding the incident.