COLOMBO — Namal Rajapaksa, the eldest son of former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, was arrested on Friday by the country’s main anti-graft body in connection with a corruption probe into a 2013 Airbus aircraft purchase for SriLankan Airlines. The 40-year-old scion of the once-powerful Rajapaksa family appeared before the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) to provide a statement after being summoned for questioning and was taken into custody following several hours of questioning, local media reported.“The MP will be taken before a magistrate,” a commission official said.It was not immediately clear what charges Rajapaksa faces.His lawyer, Nishantha Dayananda, confirmed the arrest over the controversial $2.3-billion deal, which was eventually canceled by a new government in 2016.CIABOC had questioned the former president himself in May over allegations that he had received kickbacks from the aircraft purchase.The anti-graft probe centers on claims that the European manufacturer channelled part of the money from the purchase to senior Sri Lankan officials and politicians.The Rajapaksa family has denied allegations that they received bribes and dismissed corruption claims against them as politically motivated.Former SriLankan Airlines chief executive Kapila Chandrasena told investigators in March that he had handed nearly half a million dollars in kickbacks to Rajapaksa.Chandrasena was found dead at a relative’s home in May, shortly before he was due to be rearrested. The cause of death has not been established.A joint investigation by US, British and French authorities previously found Airbus had agreed to pay about $16 million in bribes in Sri Lanka, with $1.7 million routed to Chandrasena before the scandal was uncovered.The payments were linked to the purchase of 10 Airbus aircraft, which required cabinet approval during Rajapaksa’s presidency from 2005 to 2015.According to submissions made in court, Chandrasena initially told investigators he had paid Rajapaksa 60 million rupees ($461,000 at the time) in three instalments in 2013.He later retracted the statement, claiming it had been made under pressure.SriLankan Airlines has accumulated losses estimated at nearly $2 billion, and repeated attempts to privatise the debt-laden flag carrier have failed.
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