Update — September 29, 2026: The case was taken up again on Tuesday and the Chief Magistrate recalled it to January 19, superseding the December 8 date reported below. More significantly, the Bribery Commission told the court that investigations will be concluded promptly and indictments filed against Wickramasinghe in the High Court. See the update section at the end of this article.
A Colombo court has directed the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) to complete its investigation into former SriLankan Airlines Chairman Nishantha Wickramasinghe and report its findings.
The case was taken up on Tuesday before Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama. Officials representing the Bribery Commission requested additional time to conclude the investigation and submit a progress report.
The magistrate postponed the case until December 8 and instructed the commission to update the court on the progress of its investigation at the next hearing.
Wickramasinghe faces three allegations relating to his tenure at the national carrier.
He is accused of causing a loss of US$4,512 to the government by altering the route of SriLankan Airlines Flight UL319, which had been scheduled to operate from Kuala Lumpur to Katunayake on 22 January 2014.
He also faces an allegation of causing a further loss of US$19,160 by arranging for 75 passengers travelling from the Maldives through Sri Lanka to France to be carried on Flight UL563 on 26 January 2014.
In a separate allegation, Wickramasinghe is accused of authorising the use of Rs. 1.25 million in public funds for the election campaign of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the 18th Mile Post Grounds in Katunayake on 19 December 2014.
The allegations date from Wickramasinghe’s tenure as chairman of the state-owned carrier. He was arrested and remanded in 2025 over the corruption allegations before later being granted bail.
Update: September 29, 2026
The case was taken up before Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama on Tuesday, who ordered it recalled on January 19, Hiru News reported. Wickramasinghe, who remains on bail, appeared in court.
The order followed submissions by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption. The commission told the court that its investigations will be concluded promptly and that indictments will be filed against the suspect in the High Court.
That is the substantive development. In July the court had directed the commission to complete its investigation and report progress; the commission has now stated an intention to prosecute rather than asked for more time.
Hiru’s report also dates the arrest more precisely than earlier coverage: Wickramasinghe was arrested by Bribery Commission investigators on 27 June 2025 in Nawala and subsequently released on bail. It gives his full name as Anthoney Nishantha Wickramasinghe.
No date for the filing of indictments was given, and the report carries no response from Wickramasinghe or his counsel.
Not the same person: Anthoney Nishantha Wickramasinghe, the former SriLankan Airlines chairman, should not be confused with Nishantha Mohan Wickramasinghe, the former Commissioner (Investigations) of Land Title Settlement arrested this month over a Rs. 1.586 billion Borella land case. Both were arrested by CIABOC; the cases are unrelated.
