The Attorney General’s Department has taken steps to name Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa as a suspect in a money laundering investigation into alleged financial irregularities surrounding the procurement of Airbus aircraft by SriLankan Airlines.

The decision has been taken amid ongoing investigations into alleged irregularities associated with the national carrier’s Airbus procurement process.

The Attorney General has instructed the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to name Rajapaksa, the National Organiser of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), as a suspect in the case pending before the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court concerning alleged money laundering linked to the procurement of Airbus aircraft by SriLankan Airlines in 2013.

Pursuant to the directive, the CID is reported to have brought the matter to the attention of the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court on Friday.
Separately, the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court has directed the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) to submit a progress report on its investigation into the alleged bribery scandal relating to the SriLankan Airlines Airbus transaction by October 13, 2026.

The directive was issued when the matter was taken up before Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama.

During the proceedings, CIABOC submitted a report outlining the progress of its investigation and sought a further date to report on the status of the inquiry.

The first accused in the case, former SriLankan Airlines Chief Executive Officer Kapila Chandrasena, recently died under circumstances that have been described as mysterious.

The court had previously issued warrants for the arrest of the second suspect, Chandrasena’s wife, Priyanka Niyomali Wijenayake, and the third suspect, Shamindra Rajapaksa, a former member of the SriLankan Airlines Board of Directors and the son of former Minister Chamal Rajapaksa.

Having considered the submissions, the Colombo Chief Magistrate fixed October 13 as the next date of hearing and directed CIABOC to submit a comprehensive report on the progress of its investigation.

Namal Rajapaksa was arrested by CIABOC on September 4 in connection with the investigation into the Airbus transaction. He was subsequently produced before the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court and remanded until September 18.

The investigations relate to alleged financial and other irregularities concerning the procurement of Airbus aircraft by SriLankan Airlines in 2013.