Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa Summoned by Bribery Commission Over Airbus Deal
Former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has reportedly been summoned to appear before Sri Lanka’s Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption in connection with the controversial Airbus aircraft procurement deal involving SriLankan Airlines.
According to reports, the former president has been instructed by letter to appear before the Bribery Commission on the 12th of this month in order to provide a statement regarding the Airbus transaction.
The letter was reportedly delivered today (09) to the Carlton residence in Tangalle. Although several media outlets had reported last week that the Bribery Commission intended to summon Rajapaksa, no official letter had previously been served.
The development comes less than 24 hours after the mysterious death of former SriLankan Airlines chairman Kapila Chandrasena, whose name has long been linked to the Airbus bribery scandal.
The case relates to a 2013 agreement under which SriLankan Airlines purchased six Airbus A330 aircraft and eight A350 aircraft. Former SriLankan Airlines Chief Executive Kapila Chandrasena and his wife, Neomalie Wijenayake, were accused of accepting a US$2 million bribe connected to the procurement.
During court proceedings, Bribery Commission officials reportedly stated that Chandrasena had confessed that, from the US$2 million allegedly received through the deal, Rs. 20 million had been given to then Civil Aviation Minister Priyankara Jayaratne, while Rs. 60 million had allegedly been paid to then President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
The Airbus bribery affair has remained one of Sri Lanka’s most politically sensitive corruption investigations, with allegations stretching into the highest levels of the former administration.