Ex-SriLankan Airlines Chief Nishantha Wickramasinghe granted bail following arrest

Nishantha Wickramasinghe, the former Chairman of SriLankan Airlines, has been granted bail by the Colombo Magistrate’s Court after his arrest by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) on corruption charges. He was taken into custody earlier today, on the 24th, and appeared in front of Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama, according to a report from Ada Derana. Officials from the Bribery Commission allege that between 2012 and 2014, while Piyankara Jayaratne served as Civil Aviation Minister, Wickramasinghe helped facilitate illegal payments of more than Rs. 2.8 million in fuel allowances to SriLankan Airlines. Initially, the monthly payment was Rs. 50,000, which later increased to Rs. 75,000, officials stated. The Bribery Commission confirmed that Wickramasinghe was detained for suspected corruption but did not oppose the request for bail. After considering the arguments, the Magistrate allowed his release on two surety bails of Rs. 5 million each. Additionally, Wickramasinghe is subject to a travel ban outside the country. The next court hearing is set for July 28, as reported by Ada Derana. Please note that due to legal restrictions, comments on articles about ongoing court cases have been disabled by the Ada Derana Editorial team. Copyright ©2026 Ada Derana. All rights reserved. Solution by Technology Partner Fortunacreatives.