Former Chairman SriLankan Airlines remanded until July 1

Former Chairman of SriLankan Airlines, Nishantha Wickramasinghe, arrested on allegation of corruption by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) has been remanded until July 1 by the Colombo Magistrate court.

Mr Wickremesighe, brother of Ms Shiranthi Rajapaksa was arrested in the afternoon from his residence in Nawala and produced in courts on Friday evening.

The former Chairman is accused of causing a loss to the state and misusing public funds.

The allegations against him are;

Causing a financial loss of USD 4,512 to the government by altering the destination of flight UL319, which was originally scheduled to travel from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Katunayake on 22 January 2014.

Causing a financial loss of USD 19,160 to the government by disembarking 75 passengers who had arrived in Sri Lanka from the Maldives and were scheduled to depart for France on flight UL563 on 26 January 2014.

Misuse of public funds amounting to LKR 1,250,000 on 19 December 2014, allegedly used for the former President’s election campaign held at the 18th Mile Post Stadium in Katunayake.