Sri Lankan lawmaker faces 24 charges in Airbus bribery case

Sri Lankan lawmaker Namal Rajapaksa faces 24 charges over an alleged 100 million rupee ($1 million) bribe linked to SriLankan Airlines’ purchase of Airbus aircraft.

Prosecutors recently informed a court in Colombo, Sri Lanka, that formal charges had been filed against Rajapaksa in the High Court.

Rajapaksa, the son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, has denied wrongdoing. He was arrested on September 4, 2026, after questioning by Sri Lanka’s Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption.

He appeared before the three-judge High Court bench on October 28, 2026. The court ordered that he be brought back on November 19, with Rajapaksa remaining in custody, according to local news outlets.

The indictment also names Shamindra Rajapaksa, Priyanka Niyomalie and Biz Solutions (Pvt) Ltd.

The allegations concern payments connected to the national carrier’s 2013 aircraft order for six Airbus A330-300s and four A350-900s. The A350s were never delivered.

Investigators allege that money connected to the transaction passed through overseas companies and bank accounts before reaching Rajapaksa.

An $800,000 transfer allegedly went from a Singapore account held by Biz Solutions to Sabre Vision Holdings, a company owned by a Sri Lankan businessman. Investigators charge that the businessman subsequently paid 100 million rupees in bribes in 2014 and 2015.

The aircraft purchase has been the subject of investigations and compensation demands for years.

In 2021, SriLankan Airlines sought $1 billion from Airbus for damages, reputational harm and other costs. It also demanded cancellation of its agreement for four A350-900s and the return of $19 million in advance payments.

The airline’s action followed disclosures in the wider Airbus corruption investigation. In January 2020, Airbus agreed to pay more than $3.9 billion to resolve bribery and export-control cases with authorities in the US, France and the United Kingdom. The British case covered payments involving Sri Lanka and four other countries.

Former SriLankan Airlines CEO Kapila Chandrasena, who also faced charges connected to the aircraft purchase, was found dead in Colombo in May 2026.The post Sri Lankan lawmaker faces 24 charges in Airbus bribery case appeared first on AeroTime.

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