Namal Named as Main Suspect in Airbus Deal?
The Attorney General has instructed the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to name Member of Parliament Namal Rajapaksa as the main suspect in connection with the alleged receipt of a US$2 million bribe from a European airline when purchasing a fleet of 10 aircraft for Sri Lankan Airlines.
Additional Solicitor General and President’s Counsel Dileepa Peiris, who is overseeing the investigation on behalf of the Attorney General, gave the instruction to the CID after investigations revealed that the alleged bribe, said to have been received by former Sri Lankan Airlines Chief Executive Officer Kapila Chandrasena from the European airline 13 years ago, in 2013, had been given to Namal Rajapaksa.A number of individuals, including former Sri Lankan Airlines Chief Executive Officer Kapila Chandrasena and his wife, Priyanga Niyomali Wijenayake, have been named as suspects in connection with the incident alleged to have occurred in 2013, and investigations are being conducted against them.While Kapila Chandrasena had been named as a suspect and investigations were being conducted against him and others, Chandrasena was later found dead by hanging at the residence of his brother-in-law, former prominent cricketer Aravinda de Silva.
The CID commenced investigations into the incident following a complaint concerning the alleged receipt of a US$2 million bribe from a European airline in connection with the purchase of a fleet of 10 aircraft for Sri Lankan Airlines during 2014/2015.As Priyanga Niyomali Wijenayake, the wife of former Sri Lankan Airlines Chief Executive Officer Kapila Chandrasena, who has been named as a suspect in the incident, is currently overseas, the CID has taken legal action against her on the instructions of Additional Solicitor General and President’s Counsel Dileepa Peiris.
