Latest (Friday afternoon): Rajapaksa left the FCID after several hours. Jump to the update.

Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa arrived at the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) on Friday morning to record a statement in the investigation into the MiG aircraft procurement deal, the Daily Mirror and Hiru News reported.

The Daily Mirror said the investigation concerns alleged financial irregularities and the misappropriation of state funds linked to the purchase and overhaul of MiG-27 fighter aircraft for the Sri Lanka Air Force in 2006.

Hiru News had reported earlier in the day that Rajapaksa had been summoned to the division, attributing that to “reports” rather than to a named source, before confirming his arrival.

Neither outlet reports that Rajapaksa has been arrested, named a suspect or charged. Both describe the appearance as the recording of a statement.

It follows the former Air Force commander by one day

The appearance comes a day after former Air Force commander Roshan Goonetileke gave a statement to the FCID on the same transaction. Police told NewsFirst that Goonetileke arrived at about 9.30am on Thursday and left at approximately 3.00pm, giving evidence for more than five hours.

The two outlets again differ on Goonetileke’s rank, as they did on Thursday: Hiru News calls him Marshal of the Air Force, the Daily Mirror Air Chief Marshal (Retd.). These are distinct ranks and neither report explains which applies.

What the MiG deal is

Rajapaksa was Defence Secretary in 2006, the year of the transaction. He was President from 2019 until his resignation in July 2022.

The deal covered the purchase and refurbishment of MiG-27 aircraft from Ukraine. Officials including Rajapaksa maintained at the time that it was a direct government-to-government transaction with the Ukrainian state-owned enterprise Ukrinmash.

Investigators later found that payments were instead routed through Bellimissa Holdings, an intermediary registered in the British Virgin Islands. On findings the FCID subsequently presented to court, only part of the money reached the Ukrainian state entity, while nearly US$7 million was allegedly misappropriated. After a three-year inquiry the FCID concluded that the agreement entered into on 26 July 2006 was allegedly a fraudulent document.

Update: he left after several hours

Rajapaksa left the FCID on Friday afternoon after giving a statement lasting several hours, the Daily Mirror reported at 2.41pm. He was questioned over the procurement and the related financial transactions.

Hiru News puts his arrival at about 9.15am, which would make the session roughly five hours — close to the more than five hours the former Air Force commander gave the day before. Neither outlet reports that he was arrested, named a suspect or asked to return.

Two figures for the alleged misappropriation

Hiru puts the sum the FCID told court was fraudulently misappropriated at close to US$7.8 million. The figure carried in earlier reporting on the same court filing is nearly US$7 million. No outlet reconciles the two, and neither says which court appearance the figure was given at.

Hiru also adds that Udayanga Weeratunga, Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Russia at the time of the transaction, was previously arrested over the same matter, that the case was heard over a long period at the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court, and that the FCID took steps to summon foreign bank account records.

Not reported

No outlet states what Rajapaksa was asked, whether investigators intend to summon him again, or whether he was accompanied by counsel. None reports a response from Rajapaksa or his legal representatives, and none says whether further former officials have been summoned in the same inquiry. The status of the Weeratunga proceedings is not given, and no outlet says whether the foreign bank records the FCID sought were ever produced.

Sources