Minister of Civil Aviation Bimal Rathnayake today disclosed in Parliament the financial fraud that had taken place related to the Airbus Aircraft deal under the previous regimes, revealing that Sri Lanka is now making a payment of USD 800,000 per month, as a result.
Minister Rathnayake said that the financial fraud had taken place during the tenures of the Rajapaksa and Ranil Wickremesinghe governments.
“The Rajapaksas were involved in fraud to purchase the Airbus aircraft. On the other hand, to cancel the agreement, senior officials from the Ranil Wickremesinghe government robbed money,” he said.
The Civil Aviation Minister revealed that the newly acquired Airbus Aircraft has been leased from France, for which the government was only paying USD 275,00 per month.
Minister Bimal Rathnayake pointed out that the government was also paying USD 800,000 per month for the planes that were never acquired.
“We are paying triple the amount of the cost of one plane, due to the fraudulent activities of the previous governments. This is the kind of country we are now governing,” he said.
The minister made the remarks while acknowledging the arrival of the new Airbus A330-200, the first wide-body aircraft to arrive in the country in 8 years.
SriLankan Airlines yesterday welcomed the newly acquired Airbus A330-200, bearing the registration 4R-ALT, which has been leased from France for a period of 08 years. (Newswire)