MONETABRIEF – Sri Lanka’s former president Mahinda Rajapaksa’s eldest son, Namal, who was remanded until September 18, had received part of a $16 million bribe from Airbus in the controversial purchase of aircraft, the Colombo Magistrate’s Court heard.

The 40-year-old Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) legislator drew 100 million rupees, then equivalent to about $800,000, from bribe money paid by the European aircraft manufacturer, magistrate Asanga Bodaragama was told by prosecutors.

The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) said Namal was arrested on Friday following statements from the businessman who acted as a conduit for the bribe.

Airbus officials, who had admitted to a broader global investigation by US, French and British authorities into corrupt practices by the manufacturer, also gave statements to CIABOC, it said.

“An amount of US$800,000 out of a total sum of 1.45 million euros received as a bribe into an account named BIZ Solutions Inc. at Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore was deposited, through a Sri Lankan businessman, into an OCBC Bank account in Singapore under the name Sabre Vision Holdings Ltd,” CIABOC said.

It did not name the businessman, but official sources said it was Nimal Perera, a former associate of Dhammika Perera, who is said to be residing in Australia.

Sabre Vision is also linked to the controversial Krrish property development, and Namal is facing money-laundering charges in relation to that as well.

In the Airbus deal, Namal Rajapaksa is accused of receiving 100 million rupees “as a bribe from the same Sri Lankan businessman on several occasions during 2014 and 2015,” CIABOC said.

CIABOC produced Rajapaksa before the Colombo chief magistrate after he recorded a statement on the $2.3 billion Airbus deal of 2013, when his father was president.

“Namal Rajapaksa was summoned for questioning over the Airbus transaction,” a CIABOC official said. “He was arrested after recording a statement. He is being produced before the Colombo magistrate.”

Rajapaksa’s lawyer, Nishantha Dayananda, confirmed his arrest was in connection with the controversial purchase of wide-bodied aircraft.

Following a joint US, French and UK investigation, Airbus admitted that it had paid bribes to secure sales globally, including in Sri Lanka, where it agreed to pay about $16 million to help sell wide-bodied A350 and A330 aircraft.

The deal was eventually scuttled, with a subsequent administration paying more than $100 million to cancel the order.

Kapila Chandrasena, the former SriLankan Airlines chief executive who was found dead at a relative’s home in Colombo on 8 May, told CIABOC he had shared part of a $2 million sum with Rajapaksa relatives.

Shortly before his death, Chandrasena told investigators he gave 60 million rupees to Mahinda Rajapaksa in three instalments in 2013. The former president was later questioned by CIABOC.

His nephew and Namal's cousin, Shameendra Rajapaksa, was a SriLankan Airlines director at the time. Courts have issued an arrest warrant for Shameendra, the second son of former Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa. He is believed to be in the US.

In another development on Friday, a former cabinet minister in the Mahinda Rajapaksa government, Johnston Fernando, was arrested on a charge of causing a loss of over 7.9 million rupees to the state, but was granted bail. (COLOMBO/4 Sept 2026)