Former SriLankan Airlines CEO Kapila Chandrasena Found Dead Under Suspicious Circumstances

Former SriLankan Airlines Chief Executive Officer Kapila Chandrasena has reportedly died under suspicious circumstances, according to a report submitted by police to the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court.

Police recovered his body this morning (08) from a house located on Pedris Mawatha in Kollupitiya, Colombo.

According to police, Chandrasena was found hanging inside a room of the residence. A Colombo Judicial Medical Officer also visited the scene for investigations.

Kollupitiya Police informed the court that the death is being treated as a suspicious death and further investigations are currently underway.

Colombo Fort Magistrate Pasan Amarasekara also visited the location to inspect the scene.

Kapila Chandrasena and his wife Neomali Wijenayake had been accused of accepting a bribe of 2 million US dollars during the procurement of six Airbus A330 and eight Airbus A350 aircraft for SriLankan Airlines in 2013.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) launched investigations under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and arrested the couple in 2020. They were later released on bail.

Subsequently, the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption also initiated investigations under anti-corruption laws.

Chandrasena was re-arrested on March 12 in connection with the case.

During court proceedings, Bribery Commission officials stated that Chandrasena had allegedly confessed to distributing part of the 2 million US dollars — including 20 million rupees to former Civil Aviation Minister Priyankara Jayaratne and 60 million rupees to former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

However, Chandrasena’s lawyer Riyansi Arsakularatne alleged that the confession had been obtained through intimidation by the Director General of the Bribery Commission.

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and former Minister Priyankara Jayaratne had been summoned to appear before the Commission on May 12 regarding the investigation.

Chandrasena, who had been held in remand custody, was granted conditional bail on May 5 after spending 54 days in custody.

However, allegations later emerged that two individuals had falsely appeared in court claiming to be his relatives in order to fulfill bail conditions.

Following claims that the bail conditions had been violated and the trust of the court had been breached, the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court issued a warrant yesterday (07) for Chandrasena’s re-arrest.

It was under these circumstances that he was found dead today.