Bribery Scandal: Former CEO Implicates Ex-President in Airbus Corruption Case

Kapila Chandrasena, embroiled in the 2017 Airbus case, accused former President Mahinda Rajapaksa of receiving LKR 60 million as bribes. The allegations surfaced during Chandrasena's court appearance after his recent arrest. The renewed scrutiny follows Sri Lanka's revamped anti-corruption laws, amid pledges for transparency by the ruling National People's Power government.

In a striking development in Sri Lanka's political landscape, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa has been implicated in a bribery scandal involving LKR 60 million. The allegations were made by Kapila Chandrasena, a key figure in the 2017 Airbus corruption case, during a courtroom appearance on Thursday.

Chandrasena, who served as the CEO of Sri Lanka's national airline from 2011 to 2015, revealed that bribes were delivered to Rajapaksa on three separate occasions in 2015 at his residences in the rural south. The former Aviation Minister Priyankara Jayarathna was also named as a recipient of corrupt payments in this case.

The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) has reopened inquiries under new anti-corruption measures by the National People's Power government. This renewed investigation is part of a broader pledge made by the current administration to pursue transparency and accountability, even extending scrutiny to top-level officials.

(With inputs from agencies.)