he Affidavit Behind the Rs. 100 Million Airbus Case
Namal Rajapaksa spent Friday night in remand custody after the Colombo Chief Magistrate ordered that the opposition MP be remanded until September 18 in an investigation arising from the long-running SriLankan Airlines Airbus affair.
But behind the arrest lies a potentially more important story.
The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption told court that its investigation included an affidavit from businessman Nimal Perera alleging that he handed Rajapaksa Rs 100 million linked to funds received in connection with the Airbus transaction.
Rajapaksa denies wrongdoing.
The allegation now raises questions extending considerably beyond the political spectacle of a former President’s son being taken into custody. They concern the money trail, the evidential status of the man said to have handed over the money and, ultimately, whether the evidence can withstand the scrutiny required of a criminal prosecution.
According to CIABOC’s account, €1,454,651.24 in alleged bribe money was received into an account maintained at Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore in the name of BIZ Solutions Inc.
Investigators allege that US$800,000 from those funds was subsequently transferred into an OCBC Bank account in Singapore held by Sabre Vision Holdings Ltd, described as a company belonging to a Sri Lankan businessman.
CIABOC’s case is that the businessman subsequently handed Namal Rajapaksa a total equivalent to Rs 100 million on several occasions during 2014 and 2015.
The Commission says its investigation is not based solely upon the businessman’s account. It has referred to statements obtained from Airbus officials in France together with documentary material and other information collected during the investigation.
Those details matter because an allegation, however serious, remains an allegation until proved.
The court’s decision to remand Rajapaksa is not a finding that he accepted a bribe. It is not a conviction and must not be presented as one. He retains the presumption of innocence and the prosecution will ultimately have to establish its case according to law.
There is, however, another part of this story which deserves equally close scrutiny.
His name is Nimal Perera.
