Sri Lanka’s Attorney General has filed an indictment with 24 charges against parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa and three other defendants over alleged bribery and money laundering linked to SriLankan Airlines’ Airbus aircraft transaction. Rajapaksa appeared before the Colombo Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar on 28 October. The three-judge court ordered that he be brought back on 19 November; he remains in remand custody. The indictment lists 59 witnesses.
The co-defendants are Shamindra Rajapaksa, Priyanka Niyomalie and Biz Solutions (Pvt) Ltd. The case moved to the High Court Trial-at-Bar after the indictment was filed with the Chief Justice’s approval. Prosecutors informed the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court that the indictment had been lodged and that the Magistrate’s Court proceedings were expected to conclude following the referral.
The allegations concern a 100 million rupee bribe said to be connected to SriLankan Airlines’ 2013 order for six Airbus A330-300s and four A350-900s. The A350s were not delivered. Rajapaksa has denied wrongdoing, and the allegations remain before the courts.