The former CEO of Sri Lankan Airlines who was under investigation for allegedly accepting a bribe from Airbus has been found dead, police said on Friday.
Kapil Chandrasena was found dead at a relative’s home in the capital Colombo.
He was facing an investigation by Sri Lankan authorities for allegedly conspiring to take a $16m bribe from the European aircraft manufacturer to facilitate the purchase of 10 jets for roughly $2.3bn, local media reported.
The deal was finalised in 2013 when Chandrasena ran the flag carrier.
Sri Lanka was among the countries whose officials were mentioned as having taken bribes in Airbus's $4bn settlement with European and US authorities.
Chandrasena himself was named in a joint investigation by America, Britain and France in Airbus’s business dealings.
At the time, British investigators accused Airbus of failing to stop its employees from bribing Sri Lankan Airlines to “obtain or retain business or advantage”.
He was also sanctioned by the US government in December 2024 for accepting a bribe from Airbus.
Chandrasena and his wife were accused of accepting the bribe through a shell company registered abroad, the local paper Daily Mirror reported.
The former executive reportedly told investigators that part of the money was paid to then president Mahinda Rajapaksa and aviation minister Piyankara Jayaratne.
According to the island nation’s bribery commission, Chandrasena confessed to paying the former president, who fled the country after being toppled by street protests in the wake of the economic collapse in 2022, over £400,000.
In early 2023, state-owned Sri Lankan Airlines defaulted on a $175m bond after failing to make a $6m interest payment the previous December, at a time when the country was grappling with a widespread economic crisis.
A police officer told local media on Friday they were investigating the cause and circumstances of Chandrasena’s death.
The former CEO was released from remand custody on Tuesday but was due to be rearrested on a court order after prosecutors accused him of bribing two men to get bail.
He was first arrested in 2020 in a separate case, but was released on bail.
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