Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa was allegedly paid a Rs. 60 million bribe in a transaction between SriLankan Airlines and French plane manufacturer Airbus, the Colombo Magistrate's Court was informed on Thursday (March 19).
The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) informed the court that former SriLankan Airlines Chief Executive Officer Kapila Chandrasena, who is under investigation, had informed the commission of this bribe.
The Bribery Commission said that, according to Chandrasena, the bribe was paid in three installments.
Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa was allegedly paid a Rs. 60 million bribe in a transaction between SriLankan Airlines and French plane manufacturer Airbus, the Colombo Magistrate's Court was informed on Thursday (March 19).
The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) informed the court that former SriLankan Airlines Chief Executive Officer Kapila Chandrasena, who is under investigation, had informed the commission of this bribe.
The Bribery Commission said that, according to Chandrasena, the bribe was paid in three installments.
Context
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.
It was also 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.
Chandrasena was arrested by the Bribery Commission last week (March 13) “allegedly accepting bribes while serving as the CEO of SriLankan Airlines and the head of the Procurement Committee for the purchase of Airbus aircraft”.
He and his wife were previously arrested in 2020 following the revelations in the UK court, before being granted bail.
Rajapaksa connection
Chandrasena was SriLankan Airlines CEO during Mahinda Rajapaksa’s second tenure as President between 2011 and 2015.
Rajapaksa’s eldest son, Namal Rajapaksa, was questioned in March 2025 in relation to the deal, following evidence given by a state witness, described as a ‘close ally of the Rajapaksas’.
The witness claimed that he had facilitated the payment of money from Airbus to Namal Rajapaksa.
Namal Rajapaksa brushed off the allegations saying that the government was attempting to accuse the Rajapaksas of having illegally gathered wealth.
This was however, the first implication of the former President in this case.
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.
Shamindra Rajapaksa served as a Board Director of SriLankan Airlines and is alleged to have received some of the funds from the deal in his bank account.
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