Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa provided a statement to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) yesterday (26) regarding investigations into an Airbus deal of the SriLankan Airlines.

He left the CID premises after recording a statement for over four hours pertaining to the matter. He had been summoned to the CID for the recording of a statement related to the Airbus deal of the SriLankan Airlines.

Allegations had recently surfaced regarding an improper financial transaction between Airbus and the SriLankan Airlines in connection with the national carrier’s 2013 purchase of six Airbus A330 and eight A350 aircraft. These allegations emerged through documents submitted to a foreign court related to a trial concerning the Airbus Company. 

According to the documents, Airbus had allegedly paid a bribe to the wife of former SriLankan Airlines Chief Executive Officer Kapila Chandrasena, Neomali Wijenayake, in relation to the aircraft deal. It was revealed that Airbus had discussed soliciting a bribe of United States Dollars ($) 16 million to Wijenayake before the transaction, with at least $ 2 million reportedly transferred to a company established in Brunei.

Following these revelations, the CID launched an investigation into the allegations. On 6 February 2020, Chandrasena and Wijenayake were arrested and subsequently remanded after being presented before the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court. They were later released on bail, and legal proceedings have since been ongoing.