Anti-graft authorities arrested lawmaker Namal Rajapaksa, the son of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, accusing him of receiving US$800,000 (RM3.2mil) linked to a 2013 Airbus deal.
The Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga Bodaragama ordered the 40-year-old scion of the once-powerful Rajapaksa family to be held for two weeks pending further investigations.
He was taken before court by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC), which arrested him after questioning over the US$2.3bil (RM9.3bil) Airbus transaction.
The CIABOC said that Rajapaksa had received US$800,000, part of money allegedly paid by the European aircraft manufacturer to Sri Lankan politicians and officials to secure the deal.
A Sri Lankan businessman had arranged the transfer of cash to Rajapaksa via two Singapore bank accounts, the court was told.
CIABOC had questioned the former president himself in May over allegations that he, too, had received kickbacks from the aircraft purchase, which was cancelled by a new government in 2016.
The anti-graft probe centres on claims that the European manufacturer channelled part of the money from the purchase to senior Sri Lankan officials and politicians.
The Rajapaksa family has denied allegations and dismissed corruption claims against them as politically motivated. — AFP
