Rajapaksa received bribe for planes, Sri Lanka says in court

Former president Mahinda Rajapaksa was given a bribe of LKR 60 million rupees, Kapila Chandrasena, chief accused in the 2017 Airbus case, told a court in Sri Lanka on Thursday.

Chandrasena, the former CEO of the national carrier between 2011-15, was produced in the magistrate’s court here after he was arrested last week in the case.

Rajapaksa was given Sri Lankan rupees (LKR) 20 million each at three different occasions at his country homes in the rural south in 2015 when he was the president, the former airline CEO alleged.

Former Aviation Minister Priyankara Jayarathna, during Rajapaksa’s time, was also mentioned as having received a share of the bribe, he said.

Chandrasena himself had received a kickback from Airbus and monies had been credited to his wife’s account.

Both were arrested and extended on bail in 2019.

The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) revived the Airbus case after the new anti-corruption laws were enacted in the island nation in 2024.

The current National People’s Power (NPP) Government, in the run-up to the 2024 elections, had pledged to clean public life by prosecuting even the highest authority in the land.