Sri Lanka: President to probe robbers in Sri Lankan Air

It was reported that the spouse of a SriLankan Airlines employee was paid USD 2 million to ensure that Sri Lanka bought planes from Airbus. The money was transferred to her by Airbus through a dummy company she had registered.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has ordered a comprehensive investigation into reports of financial irregularities said to have been committed during the deal between SriLankan Airlines and Airbus SE for the purchase of new aircraft.

Did you see them? 

The issue was given wide publicity by media who have published reports describing alleged misdeeds relating to the transaction between the national carrier and Europe based Airbus Industries.

Upon seeing these reports President Rajapaksa immediately ordered officials to initiate a full inquiry into these allegations, covering all aspects of the deal and report back to him.

It was reported that the spouse of a SriLankan Airlines employee was paid USD 2 million to ensure that Sri Lanka bought planes from Airbus. The money was transferred to her by Airbus through a dummy company she had registered.

The agreements SriLankan entered into with Airbus came into scrutiny last year at the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) on irregularities at SriLankan Airlines, SriLankan Catering and Mihin Lanka.

Head of Financial Management at SriLankan told the PCoI that SriLankan Airlines was worth only USD 494 million at the time it reached an agreement worth USD 807.2 million with Airbus, in 2013. Head of Group Legal Affairs at SriLankan Mayuka Ranasinghe told the PCoI that former SriLankan Airlines Chairman Nishantha Wickremesinghe had signed an MoU with Airbus, in 2013, to the tune of Rs. 146.1 billion, though only agreements worth about Rs.100 million should be signed by the CEO, as per the procurement policies of the company.

In the same year, the Auditor General, said in a special report, that UL had violated government procurement guidelines by ordering ten Airbus wide bodied aircraft and agreeing to lease a further four without due cost-benefit analysis.