Namal Rajapaksa produced in court over Airbus-linked money laundering case

Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) National Organiser and Member of Parliament Namal Rajapaksa was brought before the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court today (September 16).

He was produced in connection with a money laundering case linked to the SriLankan Airlines Airbus deal.

Prison officials produced Rajapaksa before the court in accordance with an earlier order issued by Colombo Fort Magistrate Pasan Amarasena.

Rajapaksa was named as a suspect in the money laundering investigation following a motion filed by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on the instructions of the Attorney General. On September 14, 2026, Additional Solicitor General Dileepa Peiris, appearing for the Attorney General, informed the court of the development.

On the same day, Colombo Fort Magistrate Pasan Amarasena ordered that Rajapaksa be produced before the Fort Magistrate’s Court today (September 16) in connection with the money laundering case.

Rajapaksa is already in remand custody until September 18, 2026, over a separate investigation by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC), involving allegations that he accepted Rs. 100 million as a bribe in connection with the acquisition of a wide-body Airbus aircraft fleet for SriLankan Airlines.

He was arrested by CIABOC on September 4, 2026, after providing statements for nearly five hours and was later produced before Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama, who ordered him to be remanded until September 18, 2026.

According to allegations in the CIABOC investigation, EUR 1,454,651.24 in alleged bribe money was received into an account maintained under the name BIZ Solutions INC at Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore.

Of that amount, USD 800,000 was allegedly transferred to an OCBC Bank account in Singapore maintained under the name Sabre Vision Holdings LTD, a company owned by a Sri Lankan businessman.

Investigators allege that Rajapaksa later received a total of Rs. 100 million in cash from the businessman on several occasions during 2014 and 2015 in return for an amount equivalent to the USD 800,000.

CIABOC has said its investigation is based on a statement given by the businessman, statements obtained from Airbus officials in France, and documents and other information gathered during the inquiry.

Further legal proceedings in the Airbus-linked money laundering case are expected before the Fort Magistrate’s Court today.