Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Colombo, March 19 (Daily Mirror) – Lawyers for former SriLankan Airlines CEO Kapila Chandrasena have released an affidavit stating that his earlier statement to the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption was obtained under alleged intimidation and he was threatened to include the names of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and MP Namal Rajapaksa in his statement.

Earlier, the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption informed the Colombo Magistrate’s Court that Kapila Chandrasena had stated, in a statement to the Commission, that a sum of Rs. 60 million received as a bribe in the controversial 2016 Airbus transaction was handed over to then President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption informed court that, according to the statement by the suspect, a sum of Rs. 60 million that he had received was allegedly paid in three instalments to former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, while a further sum of Rs. 20 million had been given to former Civil Aviation Minister Priyankara Jayaratne.

In the affidavit dated March 18, Chandrasena claimed that his statement to the Commission was not given voluntarily. He alleged that he was taken out of the recording room during questioning and threatened by officials, including the Director General of the Commission.

According to the affidavit, Kapila Chandrasena stated that any references in his statement to former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and MP Namal Rajapaksa, over their alleged influence, or any improper financial involvement in the SriLankan Airlines Airbus transaction, were not made voluntarily.

He claimed that such statements were obtained under intimidation and threats, alleging that officials, including the Director General of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption, created a fear for his life and coerced him into making those claims.