Colombo Fort Magistrate Isuru Neththikumara today ordered the arrest and production before court of Shameendra Rajapaksa, the youngest son of former Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa.
The order was issued after naming him as the third suspect in the case concerning alleged irregularities linked to the purchase of Airbus aircraft for SriLankan Airlines.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) submitted reports regarding accusations of corruption related to the attempted purchase of 10 Airbus aircraft for SriLankan Airlines during 2012–2013.
The CID informed the court that the Attorney General had instructed them to list Shameendra Rajapaksa as the third suspect in the case.
Former SriLankan Airlines CEO Kapila Chandrasena and his wife are already listed as suspects. They are currently out on bail.
The Magistrate further ordered the CID to obtain INTERPOL assistance to arrest the suspect, who is reportedly residing in the United States.
He also directed the CID to take steps to issue a Red Notice for the suspect’s arrest.
What Was This Transaction?
In 2012–2013, a proposal was made to retire 13 existing aircraft from the SriLankan Airlines fleet and replace them with 14 brand‑new planes.
As part of this plan, SriLankan Airlines signed an agreement with the French manufacturer Airbus to purchase six A330s and four A350s.
A major fraud linked to this transaction came to light in January 2020, after an investigation by the UK Serious Fraud Office, which exposed alarming details.
It was revealed that Airbus had agreed to pay a US$16.84 million bribe in connection with the purchase of the 10 aircraft.
Investigators found that US$2 million from this amount had been transferred to an account belonging to a company in Brunei operated by the wife of then‑CEO Kapila Chandrasena.
Sri Lankan investigators later discovered that funds deposited in that Brunei‑based company’s account had been transferred via a Singaporean account to Kapila Chandrasena’s bank account in Australia on several occasions.
Further investigations uncovered additional transfers from Singapore into two accounts in Sri Lanka.
Among these was a transfer of US$160,000 in 2013 into a bank account belonging to Shameendra Rajapaksa.
Attempts to record a statement from Shamindra Rajapaksa were unsuccessful, as he was residing in the United States at the time.
A statement had also been recorded from former Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa regarding the investigation.
Investigators further revealed that during the decision‑making process for the Airbus deal, Shameendra Rajapaksa had been a member of the relevant Board of Directors, and one of the meetings had been held at the Speaker’s official residence.
The CID informed the court that investigation files and related documents had already been submitted to the Attorney General, who then advised naming Shameendra Rajapaksa as the third suspect in the case. (News 1st)
