The United States has imposed sanctions on two Sri Lankan officials and their immediate families for corruption, barring them from entering the U.S. in recognition of International Human Rights Day.

Udayanga Weeratunga, Sri Lanka’s former Ambassador to Russia, and Kapila Chandrasena, the former CEO of SriLankan Airlines, have both been sanctioned for their involvement in significant corrupt activities. This marks the latest in a series of travel bans on Sri Lankan officials, but it is the first time sanctions have been issued specifically for corruption allegations.

According to the U.S. government, Weeratunga was implicated in a corrupt scheme surrounding the procurement of MiG aircraft for the Sri Lankan Air Force, from which he personally benefitted. Chandrasena, on the other hand, accepted a bribe during his tenure as CEO of SriLankan Airlines to facilitate the overpriced purchase of Airbus aircraft.

As part of the sanctions, the immediate family members of both individuals have also been designated.

Weeratunga:

Udayanga Weeratunga, a familial relative of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, is implicated in allegedly securing approximately US$ 14 million through a military procurement deal in 2006, involving the acquisition of four MiG-27 aircraft of Ukrainian origin for the Sri Lankan military.

The pro-Tamil media of Sri lanka reports that the aircraft provided to the Rajapaksa administration were reportedly used to carry out indiscriminate bombings of Tamil civilians during the final phase of the armed conflict of terror group LTTE. A portion of the funds allocated for the aircraft purchase were allegedly diverted to close associates of the Rajapaksa family.

Journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge, who was investigating the deal, was murdered shortly before completing his inquiry. In 2021, his daughter, Ahimsa Wickrematunge, provided details of the investigation into the deal.

She says these are the key details of the MiG procurement deal are as follows:

• The Singaporean Lee family transferred $7,833,000 to Ukrinmash for goods and services intended for the Sri Lanka Air Force. (Lee Family: Descendants and extended family members of Lee Kuan Yew, Lee is widely recognised as the founding father of the modern Singaporean state)
• In return, the Sri Lanka Air Force paid the Lee family $14,661,944.24 for the same goods and services, resulting in an 87% markup.
• Although the Sri Lanka Air Force received the promised goods and services, they remained unaware of the financial discrepancy and the fraudulent markup.

Sri Lanka effectively paid an 87% commission to Singaporean intermediaries for the acquisition of arms and services used in the conflict against the LTTE. Additionally, the Singaporeans are alleged to have paid at least $400,000 in kickbacks to Udayanga Weeratunga, cousin of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, which he allegedly used to purchase a penthouse in middle east.

It is suspected that a significant portion of the remaining $6,428,547.24 was funneled to accounts controlled by influential Sri Lankans. If investigations are resumed, further details may emerge, potentially identifying those who benefited from these illicit payments.

Weeratunga is also implicated in the sale of arms to pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, and his diplomatic passport has since been revoked.

Chandrasena:

Once upon a time Kapil Chandrasena was the CEO of Sri lankan Airlines. In 2020, Kapila Chandrasena and his wife were arrested following a corruption scandal linked to the French aerospace company Airbus, which suggested that the couple had received millions of dollars in bribes.

The arrests followed an investigation by the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO), which uncovered alleged corruption in transactions between Airbus and SriLankan Airlines spanning from July 2011 to June 2015. The SFO determined that Airbus had paid US$2 million to Priyanka Wijenayakathe, the wife of Kapila Chandrasena, who was then an executive at SriLankan Airlines.

It is alleged that Airbus provided these bribes to secure a multi-billion-dollar aircraft deal. Investigators in the UK have accused Airbus of using bribes to “obtain or retain business or an advantage.” As a result, in January, a French court imposed a €3.6 billion ($4 billion) fine on the company.

Wijenayakathe is reported to have accepted these bribes in order to “influence” SriLankan Airlines to purchase 10 aircraft from Airbus in 2013, during the previous Rajapaksa administration. Subsequently, the order for four of these aircraft was canceled, resulting in Sri Lanka being liable for a penalty of US$154 million.

This latest round of sanctions by the United States adds to a series of existing measures targeting individuals accused of war crimes and other human rights violations.