Former SriLankan Airlines CEO Kapila Chandrasena, who was alleged to have received a US$2 million bribe in a deal with Airbus, was found dead at a residence in Kollupitiya today (May 8)
Chandrasena, who was arrested in March in relation to an ongoing bribery case, was released on bail on Tuesday.
However, it was reported on Thursday that the Colombo Chief Magistrate had revoked the bail after determining that two individuals allegedly attempted to falsely stand as bail sureties for Chandrasena, and had issued a warrant for his arrest.
What We Know
Chandrasena was arrested by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) on March 13 for allegedly accepting bribes while serving as the CEO of SriLankan Airlines and the head of the Procurement Committee for the purchase of Airbus aircraft.
Chandrasena was then released on bail on Tuesday by the Colombo Chief Magistrate's Court with a cash bail of Rs. 500,000 and three surety bails of Rs. 10 million each.
However, CIABOC on Thursday moved the court to revoke the bail, alleging that two unsuitable sureties had been produced before the courts, thereby violating the bail conditions imposed by the court.
The two individuals were arrested, with police reportedly telling the court that they had received Rs. 15,000 each in exchange for appearing in court as bail sureties for Chandrasena.
The individuals did not personally know Chandrasena and are alleged to have produced questionable documentation during the bail process.
The Airbus Bribe
The alleged bribe is related to a deal SriLankan Airlines had made with French plane manufacturer Airbus in 2013 to purchase 10 aircraft (six A330s and four A350s).
In 2020, Airbus was found by a British court to have paid US$16.84 million in bribes in connection with the deal, following an investigation by the United Kingdom's Serious Fraud Office.
US$2 million of that had been credited to an account belonging to a Brunei-based company owned by the former SriLankan Airlines CEO's wife, Priyanka Neomali Wijenayaka.
Chandrasena and his wife were arrested following the revelations in the UK court before being granted bail.
It was revealed that the funds received had been transferred on a number of occasions from a Singapore account belonging to the same company to Chandrasena's personal account in Australia and to several other accounts.
After arresting him, CIABOC informed the court that during its investigations, Chandrasena had revealed to the commission that a Rs. 60 million bribe had been paid to former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
However, Chandrasena filed an affidavit through his lawyers claiming he was intimidated by CIABOC officers into including the names of Mahinda Rajapaksa and Namal Rajapaksa in his statements.
Shamindra Rajapaksa, the youngest son of former Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa and nephew of Mahinda Rajapaksa, has also been named as a suspect in the case.
In March, open warrants were issued for the arrest of Shamindra Rajapaksa and Wijenayaka for failing to appear before the court in relation to the alleged bribery.
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