The Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court on Thursday issued a warrant for the re-arrest of former SriLankan Airlines Chief Executive Kapila Chandrasena, just two days after he had been released on bail in the Airbus bribery case.
Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama ordered the warrant after the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) filed a motion alleging that Chandrasena had violated his bail conditions and breached the trust of the court.
The Magistrate had on Monday released Chandrasena on cash bail of Rs. 500,000 together with three sureties of Rs. 10 million each, on charges of soliciting a bribe of approximately USD 2 million during SriLankan’s purchase of Airbus aircraft.
CIABOC told court on Thursday that two of those three sureties had been recruited for Rs. 15,000 each. Police investigations subsequently established that neither of the two paid sureties had permanent employment, a stable income source or any personal knowledge of Chandrasena. The Bribery Commission described the arrangement as “a clear violation of the bail conditions imposed by court and a breach of the court’s trust” and asked that bail be cancelled and the accused remanded until the conclusion of the case.
Additional Magistrate Lahiru Silva, hearing the surety matter separately, had earlier remanded the two paid sureties until May 13 and directed authorities to investigate how Grama Niladhari certificates had been obtained for the bail application. The original complaint was filed by court officials and the arrests of the sureties were made by the Keselwatta Police.
The Airbus bribery case is among the most high-profile corruption prosecutions before the Sri Lankan courts, and Thursday’s revocation marks the first time in the proceedings that a magistrate has acted against the bail mechanism itself rather than the underlying charges.
