Airbus bribes: TISL writes to UK’s Serious Fraud Office
View(s):Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) last week wrote to the Director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in the UK posing a series of queries pertaining to Sri Lanka’s entitlement to compensation in the 3.6 billion sterling pounds settlement reached with aircraft maker, Airbus SE. This letter, TISL said in a statement, forms part of the organisation’s ongoing work to aid in the recovery of the US$116 million loss incurred by Sri Lankan Airlines as a result of the corrupt re-fleeting deal with Airbus SE. TISL had previously written a joint letter to the SFO, the Parquet National Financier in France and the US Department of Justice in June 2018, flagging allegations of corruption in Airbus SE’s conduct and highlighting the need to ensure compensation for those harmed by any wrongdoing.
In the letter to the SFO Director last week, TISL highlights the UK’s “General Principles to compensate overseas victims (including affected States) in bribery, corruption and economic crime cases”. TISL believes that Sri Lanka has a legitimate demand to compensation in this instance.
Former SriLankan Airlines CEO Kapila Chandrasena and his wife, currently out on bail, have been implicated in allegedly taking bribes from Airbus for planes to be purchased for the national carrier.