Sri Lanka’s Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption has disclosed new details of the financial trail behind its investigation into allegations that Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa received a Rs.100 million bribe in connection with the purchase of Airbus aircraft for SriLankan Airlines.
According to an official statement issued by the Bribery Commission, €1,454,651.24 in alleged bribe money was deposited into an account held by ‘BIZ Solutions INC’ at Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore. From that account, US$800,000 was transferred to a Singapore OCBC Bank account belonging to ‘Sabre Vision Holdings LTD’, a company owned by a Sri Lankan businessman.
The commission said its investigation subsequently established that an amount equivalent to Rs.100 million was obtained by Rajapaksa through the businessman on several occasions during 2014 and 2015. The alleged payments are identified by investigators as corresponding to the funds moved through the Singapore accounts.
The details provide the commission’s account of how the alleged bribe was channelled through a series of financial transactions rather than being transferred directly in a single payment. The overseas accounts and companies identified in the commission’s statement form a central part of the financial trail examined by investigators.
The investigation was based on statements provided by officials of Airbus in France and the relevant Sri Lankan businessman, together with documentary evidence collected by the commission. These statements and records were used by investigators in examining the transactions and the alleged payments to Rajapaksa.
The commission’s disclosure follows Rajapaksa’s arrest earlier on September 4 over the alleged receipt of the Rs.100 million bribe. He had been instructed to appear before the commission at 9.00am to provide a statement regarding the Airbus transaction and was questioned for several hours before being arrested at approximately 2.09pm.
The newly disclosed financial details shift attention from the arrest itself to the evidence and transaction chain underpinning the allegation. At its centre is the €1,454,651.24 payment into the BIZ Solutions INC account, followed by the US$800,000 transfer to Sabre Vision Holdings LTD and the subsequent alleged payments amounting to Rs.100 million to Rajapaksa through the businessman.
The commission has presented the transactions, witness statements and documentary evidence as the basis for its allegations concerning the Airbus deal. Its statement does not describe the alleged payment as a direct transfer from Airbus to Rajapaksa, but instead sets out a chain involving overseas bank accounts, a company linked to a Sri Lankan businessman and subsequent payments made through that businessman.
The investigation therefore centres on the alleged connection between these financial transactions and the Rs.100 million said to have been received by Rajapaksa during 2014 and 2015. The commission’s disclosure provides the latest account of the evidence it says has emerged from its investigation into the Airbus aircraft purchase.
The allegations remain subject to due process. The Bribery Commission has based its findings on statements from Airbus officials and the Sri Lankan businessman, as well as documentary evidence gathered during the investigation.
