Nishantha Wickramasinghe arrested
Nishantha Wickramasinghe
Former Chairman of SriLankan Airlines, Nishantha Wickramasinghe, was arrested today (June 27) at around 12:18 PM in the Nawala area by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC).
According to CIABOC, the arrest was made in connection with an ongoing investigation into three separate allegations of corruption related to decisions made during his tenure at the national carrier.
The charges against Wickramasinghe are as follows:
1. Causing a financial loss of USD 4,512 to the government by altering the destination of flight UL319, which was originally scheduled to travel from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Katunayake on January 22, 2014.
2. Causing a financial loss of USD 19,160 to the government by disembarking 75 passengers who had arrived in Sri Lanka from the Maldives and were scheduled to depart for France on flight UL563 on January 26, 2014.
3. Misuse of public funds amounting to LKR 1,250,000 on December 19, 2014, allegedly used for the former President’s election campaign held at the 18th Mile Post Stadium in Katunayake.
CIABOC added that the suspect is expected to be produced before the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court.
UPDATE – 06:45 PM:
Former Chairman of SriLankan Airlines, Nishantha Wickramasinghe, has been remanded until July 01, 2025 after being produced before the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court.
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