The Colombo Magistrate’s Court issued an order yesterday (7) to arrest and produce before Court the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the SriLankan Airlines, Kapila Chandrasena, who was released on bail by the Court two days ago.

Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodharagama issued the order after considering a request made by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption, on the grounds that the defendant had violated bail conditions.

Chandrasena, who was arrested on 12 March in connection with an incident involving the alleged acceptance of bribes during the purchase of Airbus aircraft for the Airline, was granted bail by the Court on Tuesday (5). Accordingly, he had been arrested for allegedly accepting a bribe of United States Dollars ($) two million related to the Airbus aircraft deal. Chandrasena, who was the CEO of the SriLankan Airlines during a 2013 deal to purchase 10 aircraft worth $ 2.3 billion, is accused of conspiring to accept a bribe of $ 16 million and receiving Euros 1.45 million into a bank account in Singapore. Prosecutors say that Chandrasena created a shell company in Brunei in his wife’s name and arranged for the kickback to be paid into its Singapore account. Chandrasena was previously arrested and released on bail in February 2020 in a similar but separate case.