Namal Rajapaksa arrested after giving a statement regarding the Airbus deal

Member of Parliament Namal Rajapaksa, who appeared before the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption in connection with the alleged massive financial irregularities and bribery incident that occurred during the purchase of wide-body aircraft for SriLankan Airlines, has been arrested.

The MP had been informed to appear before the commission today at 9.00 AM to record a statement related to this investigation. Although his lawyer had previously requested another date, the Bribery Commission rejected that request and sent an official letter via WhatsApp, instructing him to appear at the scheduled time. Accordingly, lawyer Muditha R. Lokumudali confirmed that his client appeared before the commission.

This investigation is based on the agreement reached by SriLankan Airlines in 2013 to purchase Airbus A350-900 aircraft. The UK's Serious Fraud Office had revealed that during the transaction, the British Airbus company had paid millions of dollars in bribes to high-ranking politicians and businessmen in Sri Lanka.

Subsequently, the government that came to power in 2015 took steps to cancel this agreement, which resulted in the airline and the government having to pay massive compensation amounting to billions of rupees. Previously, the former CEO of SriLankan Airlines, Mr. Kapila Chandrasena, and his wife were arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department and produced before the court in connection with this bribery incident and money laundering.