The former Chief Executive Officer of SriLankan Airlines has reportedly confessed that former president and accused war criminal Mahinda Rajapaksa received bribes linked to Sri Lanka’s long running Airbus corruption scandal.
The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption informed the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday that former SriLankan Airlines Chief Executive Officer Kapila Chandrasena had stated that a sum of Rs. 60 million was paid directly to Rajapaksa.
The disclosure was made during court proceedings related to the ongoing investigation into alleged bribery in the Airbus aircraft procurement deal.
According to the Commission, Chandrasena stated that the Rs. 60 million was paid to Rajapaksa in three instalments. He has also reportedly claimed that a further Rs. 20 million was paid to former Civil Aviation Minister Priyankara Jayaratne.
The Commission further told court that investigations had uncovered a complex financial arrangement through which the alleged bribe payments were made. A shell company had reportedly been established in Brunei under Chandrasena’s wife’s name, with a bank account opened in Singapore to receive funds.
Through this mechanism, a sum of 1,454,645.54 Euros was allegedly obtained from the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company as bribes. Investigators stated that the funds were subsequently transferred to Chandrasena’s account at the Commonwealth Bank in Australia, with portions of the money allegedly distributed to senior officials.
The court was also informed that part of the funds had been transferred to an account linked to Shamindra Rajapaksa, a former SriLankan Airlines board member and son of former minister Chamal Rajapaksa.
Chandrasena, who was arrested on 12 March 2026 over allegations that he solicited and accepted a bribe of USD 2 million in connection with the Airbus deal, was ordered to be further remanded until 2 April by Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama.
The Airbus deal, which dates back to 2013, involved the purchase of 10 aircraft valued at approximately US$2.3 billion. Prosecutors have alleged that Chandrasena conspired to accept a total bribe of US$16 million linked to the transaction.
The case forms part of a broader pattern of corruption allegations associated with the Rajapaksa administration, which has long faced accusations of large scale financial misconduct, abuse of state resources, and lack of accountability.
During their time in power, members of the Rajapaksa family were repeatedly accused of overseeing opaque procurement deals and concentrating economic and political power within a small ruling circle. Several high profile projects, including infrastructure and defence related contracts, have been linked to allegations of inflated costs, kickbacks and misuse of public funds.
Despite sustained domestic and international scrutiny, accountability for such allegations has remained limited, with investigations often stalled or politically contested.