Namal Rajapaksa named a suspect in separate Airbus money-laundering probe
Regarding Namal Rajapaksa
What happened?
On 11 September 2026, the Attorney General directed the Criminal Investigation Department to formally name Namal Rajapaksa as a suspect under Section 3 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act No. 5 of 2006, in connection with alleged financial irregularities in SriLankan Airlines' 2013 Airbus aircraft procurement. The CID communicated this to the Colombo Fort Magistrate's Court, which ordered Rajapaksa produced before it on 16 September 2026.
What changed?
This is a new, legally distinct proceeding from the existing CIABOC bribery case over the same procurement (in which Rajapaksa is already remanded until 18 September 2026) - bribery and money laundering are separate alleged offences, though both arise from what reporting describes as one joint investigation into the transaction. No charge or indictment under this new suspect designation has been reported, and it does not itself change his physical custody.
What happens next?
16 September 2026: Due to be produced before the Colombo Fort Magistrate's Court.
The case
People involved
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