Sri Lanka Arrests Ex-President's Son For Taking $800,000 Bribe In Airbus Deal
The Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga Bodaragama ordered the 40-year-old scion of the once-powerful Rajapaksa family to be held for two weeks pending further investigations.
Sri Lanka's anti-graft authorities arrested Namal Rajapaksa, the son of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, on Friday. The 40-year-old lawmaker is accused of receiving $800,000 related to a 2013 Airbus deal. He was held by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) after being questioned over the $2.3 billion aircraft transaction.
The CIABOC informed the court that Rajapaksa received $800,000, part of the alleged money paid by Airbus to Sri Lankan politicians and officials for securing the deal. Rajapaksa's lawyer sought bail, but it was denied. The probe has also expanded to include former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was questioned by CIABOC in May over allegations that he too received kickbacks from the aircraft purchase, which was later cancelled by a new government in 2016.
Written by urgent.news from The Citizen's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
This story
This is one outlet's version. Read the fullest account.
- Sri Lanka arrests ex-president’s son over Airbus deal citizen.co.za
- Sri Lanka arrests ex-president's son over Airbus deal channelnewsasia.com
