Sri Lanka arrests ex-president Mahinda Rajapaksa’s son over Airbus deal

Sri Lanka's main anti-graft agency on Friday arrested lawmaker Namal Rajapaksa, the son of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, as part of a corruption investigation into a controversial $2.3 billion Airbus aircraft deal.The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) said the 40-year-old lawmaker was summoned for questioning over the 2013 transaction and arrested afterwards."The MP was arrested afterwards and will be taken before a magistrate," a commission official said.It was not immediately clear what charges Rajapaksa faces. His lawyer, Nishantha Dayananda, confirmed the arrest.The investigation centres on allegations that Airbus agreed to channel part of the proceeds from the purchase as bribes to senior Sri Lankan officials and politicians. The deal involved the purchase of 10 Airbus aircraft and required cabinet approval during Mahinda Rajapaksa's presidency from 2005 to 2015.CIABOC also questioned the former president in May over allegations that he received kickbacks linked to the aircraft purchase.The Rajapaksa family has denied receiving bribes and has dismissed corruption allegations against them as politically motivated.Former SriLankan Airlines chief executive Kapila Chandrasena told investigators in March that he had handed nearly $500,000 in kickbacks to Namal Rajapaksa.According to court submissions, Chandrasena initially told investigators that he had paid Rajapaksa 60 million Sri Lankan rupees, equivalent to $461,000 at the time, in three instalments in 2013. He later retracted the statement, saying it had been made under pressure.Chandrasena was found dead at a relative's home in May, shortly before he was due to be rearrested. The cause of his death has not been established.A previous joint investigation by US, British and French authorities found that Airbus had agreed to pay about $16 million in bribes in Sri Lanka, with $1.7 million allegedly routed to Chandrasena before the scandal came to light.The Airbus deal was eventually cancelled by a new Sri Lankan government in 2016.SriLankan Airlines, the country's debt-laden flag carrier, has accumulated losses estimated at nearly $2 billion, while repeated efforts to privatise the airline have failed.Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.