Namal Rajapaksa Not Released on Bail; Remanded Until September 18

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Few names move Sri Lankan social media like Rajapaksa. So, when the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) arrested SLPP National Organizer and MP Namal Rajapaksa on September 4, 2026, over the Airbus aircraft deal, the story raced online and quickly mutated. Within hours, posts were claiming that a court had already released him on bail. Here are the posts that carried that claim.

Social Media Posts:

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Fact Check:

Mainstream media reported every stage of the incident, from Namal Rajapaksa’s arrival at the Bribery Commission on September 4. According to those reports, he was taken into custody at the Commission and produced before court the same day. No mainstream outlet or official source has reported or confirmed that he was granted bail after being produced before court.

Officially confirmed sources reported that Namal Rajapaksa arrived at the Bribery Commission on the morning of September 4, after a summons to record a statement on the Airbus procurement scandal. Investigators questioned him for nearly five hours and recorded a lengthy statement. Taking the evidence into account, they arrested him that afternoon and produced him before the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court. Related media reports are available here, here, and here.

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No Bail Was Granted; Namal Rajapaksa Was Remanded Until September 18

Considering the evidence presented, Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga Bodaragama ordered Namal Rajapaksa remanded until September 18, 2026. He was taken to prison the same day, September 4. Mainstream media also reported this.

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More media reports on this matter are available here and here.

The Police Media Division Confirmed No Bail Was Granted

To further verify the claim, we contacted the Police Media Division. It confirmed that Namal Rajapaksa, who had come to give a statement to the Bribery Commission, was arrested there, and that no bail was granted after his court appearance. The Police Media Division confirmed that the MP has been remanded until the 18th of this month.

The Prisons Spokesperson Confirmed Namal Rajapaksa Is in Remand Custody

We also contacted Prisons Media Spokesperson Senaka Pallethanna. He too confirmed that the circulating posts are false, stating that Namal Rajapaksa was arrested, produced before court, and remanded until the 18th, and that he is currently held at the Colombo Remand Prison.

The Arrest Stems from the Airbus Aircraft Bribery Investigation

The arrest relates to an alleged bribery deal worth about Rs. 100 million connected to SriLankan Airlines’ purchase of Airbus aircraft.

Investigators examined allegations that the European manufacturer Airbus paid bribes to senior Sri Lankan officials and politicians during the aircraft procurement process between 2013 and 2015. According to the Bribery Commission, the bribe money was deposited into an account named ‘BIZ Solutions Inc’ at Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore, then transferred to a Singapore OCBC account belonging to ‘Sabre Vision Holdings Ltd’, a company owned by a Sri Lankan businessman. The arrest was made on that businessman’s statements and on information and evidence provided by Airbus officials in France. Additional details here and here.

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Conclusion:

The claim that Namal Rajapaksa was released on bail is false. After being questioned for about five hours over the Airbus procurement scandal, he was arrested on the afternoon of September 4 and produced before the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court. Chief Magistrate Asanga Bodaragama ordered him to remain until September 18, 2026, and he was taken to the Colombo Remand Prison the same day.

Both the Police Media Division and Prisons Media Spokesperson Senaka Pallethanna confirmed to Fact Crescendo that no bail was granted and that the MP remains in remand custody, and mainstream media reporting matches this account. The posts claiming his release on bail are therefore false.