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A Colombo court granted Namal Rajapaksa bail in the Krish Hotels bribery case. He remains detained over separate Airbus bribery and money-laundering allegations.
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Colombo,Nov 3, 2026 16:40 IST
Sri Lankan opposition MP Namal Rajapaksa was granted bail on Tuesday in a bribery case linked to a proposed hotel project involving an Indian company, news agency Press Trust of India reported. However, he will remain in custody in a separate case.
The Colombo Magistrate's Court granted Rajapaksa bail after considering the health of his parents as a special circumstance. Rajapaksa is the eldest son of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa and an MP from the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna.
Rajapaksa was arrested on September 29 over allegations that he accepted a bribe of LKR 70 million, or about USD 210,000, in 2013 to help secure approvals for the proposed hotel investment. Prosecutors alleged that he used his political influence during his father's presidency to speed up the approval process.
Krish Hotels chairperson Janaki Siriwardena was also arrested in the case for allegedly bribing Rajapaksa. Investigators alleged that she paid him on several occasions to secure key approvals for the project. She remains in custody, according to Press Trust of India.
Rajapaksa, who is also an international rugby player, was questioned in 2016, and a case was filed against him over the alleged misuse of funds from the Krish project for rugby promotion. He has maintained that the money was sponsorship for an international rugby sevens tournament held in Colombo in 2014.
The proposed hotel project, estimated to cost more than USD 750 million, remains stalled.
Rajapaksa will remain in custody in a separate case involving alleged bribery and money laundering in SriLankan Airlines' acquisition of wide-body Airbus aircraft. The allegations concern a purported bribe of LKR 100 million, or about USD 300,000, linked to the purchase by the national carrier.
The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption arrested him on September 4 in the Airbus case, after which he was remanded in custody. He was produced before the Colombo High Court's Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar on October 28 after the case was transferred from the magistrate's court. The court has directed that he be produced before it on November 19.
The Rajapaksa family and its political allies have previously alleged that legal proceedings against family members are politically motivated, while the government has defended its anti-corruption drive. Rajapaksa has secured bail in the hotel project case but will remain in custody over the separate Airbus case.
With PTI Inputs
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