Police report facts to court over ‘suspicious’ death of Kapila Chandrasena

Police have informed the Fort Magistrate’s Court that former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SriLankan Airlines, Kapila Chandrasena, was found dead under suspicious circumstances.

Chandrasena’s body was discovered this morning (08) at a residence located on Pedris Road, Kollupitiya.

According to police, the body was found hanging inside a room of the house. The Colombo Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) also visited the scene earlier today.

While reporting the facts to the Fort Magistrate’s Court, the Kollupitiya Police stated that the incident is being treated as a suspicious death and that further investigations are underway. 

Fort Magistrate Pasan Amarasena also visited the location to conduct an on-site inquiry.

Further investigations are being carried out under the guidance of Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) in charge of Colombo District, Nishantha Zoysa, and under the supervision of Senior DIG of the Western Province, Sajeewa Medawatta.

Kapila Chandrasena and his wife, Niyomali Wijenayake, were previously accused of accepting a bribe amounting to USD 2 million during the procurement of six Airbus A-330 and eight A-350 aircraft for SriLankan Airlines in 2013.

Following an investigation conducted by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) under the Money Laundering Act, the suspects were arrested in 2020 and subsequently released on bail by the Fort Magistrate’s Court.

However, after investigations allegedly revealed offences falling under the Bribery Act and the Anti-Corruption Act, the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) launched a separate investigation, leading to Chandrasena’s re-arrest on March 12.

During court proceedings, officials of the Bribery Commission stated that Chandrasena had provided a statement claiming that, out of the USD 2 million received in the transaction, Rs. 20 million had been given to former Minister of Civil Aviation Priyankara Jayaratne, while Rs. 60 million had been given to former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

However, President’s Counsel Rienzie Arsecularatne, appearing on behalf of Chandrasena, contested the claim, alleging that the Director General of the Bribery Commission had obtained the statement from his client under duress.

In connection with the investigation, the Bribery Commission had summoned former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and former Minister Priyankara Jayaratne to appear before the Commission on May 12 to record statements.

Meanwhile, the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court had ordered the release of Chandrasena on bail on May 5 after he had spent 54 days in remand custody. The bail conditions included a cash bail of Rs. 500,000 and three personal bails of Rs. 10 million each to be furnished by close relatives.

However, during the process of fulfilling the bail conditions, two individuals who had allegedly falsely represented themselves as relatives were produced before court. The two individuals were subsequently arrested and remanded.

Consequently, the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court yesterday issued a warrant for the re-arrest of Kapila Chandrasena for allegedly violating bail conditions and breaching the trust of the court.