The Colombo Magistrate's Court today (14) ordered the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) to submit a progress report by October 13, 2026 on the investigation into the alleged bribery scandal linked to SriLankan Airlines' Airbus aircraft deal.

The order was issued when the case was taken up before Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama, Ada Derana reporter said.

At the commencement of proceedings, the CIABOC submitted a report outlining the progress of its investigations and requested a further date to continue reporting on the probe.

During the hearing, Attorney-at-Law Udara Muhandiramage, appearing on behalf of businessman Nimal Perera, sought permission to make submissions to the court. However, the Chief Magistrate stated that such submissions were unnecessary, as Perera has not been named as a suspect in the case yet.

The first accused in the case, former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SriLankan Airlines, Kapila Chandrasena, recently died under mysterious circumstances.

The court had previously issued warrants for the arrest of the second suspect, his wife Priyanka Niyomali Wijenayake, and the third suspect, Shamindra Rajapaksa, who is a former board member of SriLankan Airlines and son of former Minister Chamal Rajapaksa.

After considering the submissions, the Chief Magistrate fixed the next hearing of the case for October 13 and directed the CIABOC to present a comprehensive update on the progress of the investigation on that date.