Colombo Fort Magistrate Isuru Neththikumara has directed the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to arrest former SriLankan Airlines board member Shasheendra Rajapaksa and produce him in court in connection with the Airbus aircraft procurement bribery probe.
When the case was taken up on Tuesday, the Magistrate sought an explanation from the CID over the delay in executing an existing arrest warrant on Shasheendra Rajapaksa, a nephew of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa in whose second term the Airbus transaction was approved.
Neththikumara separately issued a new warrant on Priyanka Nayomali Wijenayake, the wife of former SriLankan Airlines Chief Executive Officer Kapila Chandrasena, over her alleged role in the transaction, The Island reported.
The Chandrasenas are accused of receiving a USD 2 million bribe to facilitate the 2013 SriLankan Airlines procurement of Airbus aircraft. The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) is conducting a parallel inquiry into the Airbus deal.
The Magistrate ordered the case to be called again on May 20.
The fresh orders intensify a widening accountability track that began with Kapila Chandrasena’s arrest on March 12 and the subsequent open warrants issued in early April against Shasheendra Rajapaksa and Wijenayake. Chandrasena was remanded on April 2 after bail was denied amid CIABOC allegations that Rs. 60 million from the bribe had been paid to Mahinda Rajapaksa and further payments made to former Minister Priyankara Jayaratne — claims Chandrasena later retracted in an affidavit describing his statement as made under duress.
