Court Orders Arrest of Kapila Chandrasena After Breach of Trust Allegations

COLOMBO (News 1st): The Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama today (7) issued a warrant for the arrest of former SriLankan Airlines Cheif Executive Officer Kapila Chandrasena, ordering that he be produced before court without delay.

The warrant was issued after the court took up for consideration a motion filed by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption, which alleged that Chandrasena had violated bail conditions and breached the trust of the court.

Issuing the warrant, the Chief Magistrate instructed investigating officers to execute it immediately.

Kapila Chandrasena had been released on bail the day before yesterday, after being earlier remanded. He had been held in remand custody in connection with allegations that he accepted a bribe of approximately USD 2 million during the procurement of Airbus aircraft for SriLankan Airlines.

When granting bail, the Chief Magistrate had ordered cash bail of Rs. 500,000 along with three surety bails amounting to Rs. 10 million each.

However, officials of the Bribery Commission informed court today, through a motion, that the suspect had produced two individuals for two of the Rs. 10 million surety bails, allegedly by paying Rs. 15,000 each.

The Bribery Commission told court that this act constituted a clear violation of the bail conditions imposed by court and a breach of the court’s trust.

Based on these submissions, the investigating officer requested court to cancel the suspect’s bail and remand him in custody until the conclusion of the case.

The officer further requested that a warrant be issued to arrest the suspect, who had already left court on bail, and to produce him before court.

After considering the facts presented, Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama ruled in favour of the request and issued a warrant for the arrest of Kapila Chandrasena, ordering that he be taken into custody and produced before court.