Former Speaker of Parliament and former Minister Chamal Rajapaksa arrived at the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) at about 10.00 a.m. on Tuesday to record a statement in the investigation into the SriLankan Airlines–Airbus deal, and left after roughly an hour, Ada Derana reported.

The Commission said a statement was being recorded from him, according to NewsFirst.

Summoned for the day Namal was arrested

Rajapaksa had originally been instructed to appear before the commission on September 4, NewsFirst reported, but told CIABOC he could not attend that day for personal reasons and asked for an alternative date.

September 4 was the day his nephew, SLPP National Organiser Namal Rajapaksa, appeared before the same commission, was arrested after five hours of questioning and was remanded until September 18 over an alleged Rs. 100 million bribe linked to the deal. None of the outlets reporting Tuesday’s appearance noted that the two dates coincided.

Chamal Rajapaksa is the latest member of the family to be called over the transaction. Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa gave a statement to CIABOC in May.

Government says the probe will not stop at one or two people

Separately on Tuesday, Transport Minister Bimal Rathnayake said the Government was not pursuing political revenge and was acting only within its legal mandate, Daily Mirror reported.

The investigation should not be limited to one or two individuals, he said, and everyone connected to the alleged wrongdoing must be brought before the law. “We are not taking revenge. We will only carry out our mandate,” the minister said.

Rathnayake said the alleged bribery linked to the purchase of wide-body aircraft for SriLankan Airlines had been established through proceedings at the London High Court, that the allegations emerged when the Airbus order was cancelled in 2016, and that Airbus had provided evidence of fraud to Sri Lanka’s anti-corruption authorities.

Neither the commission nor Chamal Rajapaksa’s representatives said whether he would be required to appear again, and no outlet reported what he was questioned about.

Sources