Sri Lanka arrests ex-president's son over Airbus deal

Sri Lankan anti-graft authorities arrested lawmaker Namal Rajapaksa, son of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, on Friday over a $2.3 billion Airbus deal. The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption accuses him of receiving $800,000 linked to the 2013 aircraft purchase. A Colombo magistrate ordered him held for two weeks pending investigation.

Why was Namal Rajapaksa arrested?

The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption arrested Namal Rajapaksa after questioning him over Sri Lanka's $2.3 billion Airbus transaction. Investigators allege he received $800,000, part of money the European manufacturer allegedly paid to Sri Lankan politicians and officials to secure the deal. A businessman arranged the transfer through two Singapore bank accounts, the court was told.

Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga Bodaragama ordered the 40-year-old scion held for two weeks pending further investigations. Rajapaksa's lawyer, Nishantha Dayananda, sought bail, but the court denied his request. CIABOC had questioned the former president himself in May over allegations that he, too, had received kickbacks from the aircraft purchase, which a new government cancelled in 2016.

What is the Airbus bribery investigation into the Rajapaksa family?

The anti-graft probe centers on claims that the European manufacturer channeled part of the money from the purchase to senior Sri Lankan officials and politicians. The Rajapaksa family has denied the allegations and dismissed the corruption claims as politically motivated. The payments were linked to the purchase of 10 Airbus aircraft, which required cabinet approval during Rajapaksa's presidency from 2005 to 2015.

Former SriLankan Airlines chief executive Kapila Chandrasena told investigators in March that he had handed nearly half a million dollars in kickbacks to the senior Rajapaksa. He was found dead at a relative's home in May, shortly before he was due to be rearrested, and the cause of death has not been established. According to court submissions, Chandrasena initially said he paid Rajapaksa 60 million rupees, worth about $461,000 at the time, in three instalments in 2013, before retracting the statement, claiming it had been made under pressure.

A joint investigation by US, British and French authorities previously found Airbus had agreed to pay about $16 million in bribes in Sri Lanka, with $1.7 million routed to Chandrasena before the scandal was uncovered. SriLankan Airlines has accumulated losses estimated at nearly $2 billion, and repeated attempts to privatize the debt-laden flag carrier have failed.