Sri Lanka to probe $2.3b Airbus deal
‘Culture of corruption’ in the airline, accumulated losses worth $650 million.
Sri Lankan Airlines ordered six Airbus A330 aircraft and four A350 planes in 2013. PHOTO: AFP
COLOMBO:
Sri Lanka’s new government has announced a criminal investigation into the $2.3-billion purchase of 10 Airbus aircraft for the island’s loss-making national carrier under the former government.
An independent board of inquiry found gross violations of financial regulations and procurement procedures in state-owned Sri Lankan Airlines deal, said a statement from the country’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s office, warranting criminal prosecutions against the former executives.
The investigating panel, headed by a former chairman of anti-graft watchdog Transparency International’s Sri Lanka office, found a “culture of corruption” in the airline, which had accumulated losses of over $650 million.
It said there was sufficient evidence to prosecute the airline’s former chairman Nishantha Wickramasinghe -- the brother-in-law of ex-president Mahinda Rajapakse -- as well as former chief executive Kapila Chandrasena, who resigned last month when the panel called for action against him in an interim report.
“The former government of president Rajapakse made management changes to carry out a re-fleeting of the airline with brand-new aircraft costing $2.3 billion despite the availability of more cost effective alternatives,” the statement said.
Sri Lankan Airlines ordered six Airbus A330 aircraft and four A350 planes in 2013. It took delivery of the first two A330 planes last year, months before Rajapakse’s January election defeat. The carrier has said it expects three A350 aircraft to be delivered next year and the fourth in 2017.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 5th, 2015.
Sri Lanka’s new government has announced a criminal investigation into the $2.3-billion purchase of 10 Airbus aircraft for the island’s loss-making national carrier under the former government.
An independent board of inquiry found gross violations of financial regulations and procurement procedures in state-owned Sri Lankan Airlines deal, said a statement from the country’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s office, warranting criminal prosecutions against the former executives.
The investigating panel, headed by a former chairman of anti-graft watchdog Transparency International’s Sri Lanka office, found a “culture of corruption” in the airline, which had accumulated losses of over $650 million.
It said there was sufficient evidence to prosecute the airline’s former chairman Nishantha Wickramasinghe -- the brother-in-law of ex-president Mahinda Rajapakse -- as well as former chief executive Kapila Chandrasena, who resigned last month when the panel called for action against him in an interim report.
“The former government of president Rajapakse made management changes to carry out a re-fleeting of the airline with brand-new aircraft costing $2.3 billion despite the availability of more cost effective alternatives,” the statement said.
Sri Lankan Airlines ordered six Airbus A330 aircraft and four A350 planes in 2013. It took delivery of the first two A330 planes last year, months before Rajapakse’s January election defeat. The carrier has said it expects three A350 aircraft to be delivered next year and the fourth in 2017.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 5th, 2015.