Officers of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) have recorded a statement from MP Namal Rajapaksa inside Welikada Prison, where he is being held in remand custody, Hiru News and NewsFirst reported on Saturday.
NewsFirst said commission officials travelled to the prison during the day to take the statement.
What the questioning covers
The statement concerns allegations that Rajapaksa accepted a bribe of Rs. 70 million from Janaki Siriwardena, the former executive director of the Krrish Group, both outlets reported.
NewsFirst added that investigators believe the money was routed through an individual named Nimal Perera, who now lives in Australia. Hiru’s account does not mention that channel, and neither outlet sets out what the payment was allegedly for.
Siriwardena was arrested and remanded until 6 October earlier this week. It was at that hearing that the Colombo Chief Magistrate granted CIABOC permission to question Rajapaksa in prison — the step carried out on Saturday.
Rajapaksa, a Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna MP and son of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, was remanded on 23 September after bail was refused. He is separately the subject of a CIABOC case over an alleged Rs. 100 million Airbus-linked bribe.
Not reported
Neither outlet says how long the questioning lasted, whether Rajapaksa answered the commission’s questions or exercised a right to silence, or whether his lawyers were present. Neither reports any response from Rajapaksa or his party, and no CIABOC official is quoted. The two outlets spell the former Krrish director’s surname differently — Siriwardena (NewsFirst) and Siriwardhana (Hiru); this report uses the spelling carried in our earlier coverage of her arrest.
