Two Million Dollars

What a $2 million bribe did to a $2 billion airline.

On March 12, 2026, Sri Lanka arrested Kapila Chandrasena, the former CEO of SriLankan Airlines, on charges involving a $2 million payment from Airbus SE.¹ That payment secured a $2.3 billion fleet order. The order generated over $117 million in cancellation penalties when the wrong aircraft were unwound. The airline’s accumulated losses now exceed Sri Lanka’s annual health budget by 54%.

The $2 million was routed from Airbus’s treasury through a Brunei shell company called “Biz Solutions,” into a Standard Chartered account in Singapore, and onward to Chandrasena’s personal account at Commonwealth Bank in Australia.¹

I. The cascade

The deal the $2 million purchased: six A330-300s and four A350-900s, plus four additional A350-900s on lease.² Airbus had offered $16.84 million in total commissions to Chandrasena’s wife; approximately $1.6 million (€1.45 million) was confirmed received.²

The A350s were wrong for SriLankan’s network. When the airline cancelled the A350 orders, Airbus extracted a $98 million cancellation penalty, negotiated down from $154 million, plus $19–23 million in forfeited pre-delivery payments.³ The directly traceable cost of the corrupted procurement (cancellation penalties and forfeited deposits) exceeded $117 million.

As of August 2025, SriLankan Airlines has accumulated losses of Rs 631.5 billion, over $2 billion.⁴ Negative equity: Rs 415.2 billion. Debt exceeds $900 million, including a $175 million sovereign-guaranteed bond and Rs 90 billion owed to state banks. Every Sri Lankan citizen effectively paid Rs 5,127 to subsidise the airline.⁴

SriLankan’s accumulated losses reflect decades of mismanagement, renationalisation, currency depreciation, and pandemic. The bribe did not cause all of them. But the corrupted procurement was the load-bearing fleet decision. It locked in the wrong aircraft at the wrong price and generated over $117 million in penalties when the mistake was unwound. Those losses exceed the entire 2024 national health budget of Rs 410 billion by 54%.⁴ Sri Lanka experienced sovereign default in 2022.

In December 2024, the US Treasury sanctioned Chandrasena under International Anti-Corruption Day designations.⁵ SriLankan Airlines has filed a $1 billion damages claim against Airbus, with a latest demand of approximately $480 million.⁵

II. The pattern

Airbus’s 2020 settlement with the UK’s Serious Fraud Office, France’s Parquet National Financier, and the US Department of Justice covered bribery in more than twenty countries.⁶ In every documented case, the mechanism is the same: a payment corrupts the procurement decision, the wrong aircraft are purchased on wrong terms for wrong routes, and losses compound until the airline and the country behind it bear costs far larger than the bribe.

Thai Airways. Transport Ministry investigators confirmed “corruption had definitely occurred” on a THB 53.5 billion ($1.54 billion) deal for ten A340-500/600s, with at least 5% in commissions to politicians.⁷ The National Economic and Social Development Council had objected: the A340 was a four-engine aircraft burning 25–30% more fuel per seat than Boeing’s twin-engine 777.⁸ Thai bought them anyway. The Bangkok–New York route alone lost THB 7 billion over three years. Total A340 operational losses: THB 39 billion ($1.1 billion). All ten aircraft retired after 7–10 years against a normal 20–25 year lifespan, five sold in 2022 for scrap value.⁸ Investigators identified the purchase as “the beginning of the end” for Thai Airways.⁸ Cumulative debt reached THB 250 billion. Bankruptcy protection, May 2020. Workforce halved from 30,000 to 15,000.⁸ Charges against Thaksin Shinawatra were dropped.⁹

Nepal Airlines. AAR Corporation paid $2.5 million to Nepali officials to secure Nepal’s largest-ever aircraft purchase: two A330-200s for $209.6 million, routed through intermediaries in Moldova, Portugal, and Germany.¹⁰ Nepal Airlines has six aircraft total. The A330s serve three destinations. Nepal is banned from EU airspace. A former judge involved in the case: “They bought planes with less load and paid the price for more capacity."¹¹

The government borrowed Rs 24 billion from the Employees Provident Fund and Citizens Investment Fund, public pension funds. Outstanding airline debt now exceeds Rs 47 billion at 10% interest. About 1.3 million Nepalis who save with these pension funds face uncertain futures because Nepal Airlines has not been making repayments.¹¹ Nepal’s Special Court convicted eleven individuals; thirty-two have been charged.¹⁰

Garuda Indonesia. Emirsyah Satar unilaterally changed procurement specifications without board consultation, accepted $3.4 million in bribes, and laundered $6 million+ through BVI companies and overseas property.¹² Garuda’s debt reached $9.8 billion. Creditors filed $13.8 billion in claims. In restructuring, creditors lost 81 cents on every dollar. The government injected Rp 7.5 trillion ($484 million) of public money.¹³ Satar received 8 years, then 5 more on a second conviction.¹²

TransAsia Airways. Airbus channelled nearly $15 million through business partners associated with TransAsia employees.¹⁴ The airline ceased operations November 2016. Bankruptcy declared June 2018. Licence permanently revoked. TransAsia no longer exists.

Total airline debt reflects all causes including government interference, currency movements, and pandemic. The corrupted procurement was in each case the originating fleet decision.

III. The apparatus

The bribery was institutional. Airbus’s Strategy and Marketing Organisation (SMO) employed approximately 150 people with an initial annual budget of $300 million.⁶ Within it, an elite sub-unit called International Operations, approximately 15 people, was described by a former Airbus executive as “like our secret service, whose job was to handle the dirty tricks."¹⁵ The Joint Investigation Team examined more than 1,750 business partner entities worldwide, with red flags identified for approximately 110.⁶

A British judge, in approving the Deferred Prosecution Agreement, stated that “bribery was endemic within Airbus in core business areas."⁶ French prosecutors estimated the corruption increased Airbus’s profits by €1 billion.⁶ Airbus’s own internal investigation acknowledged that bribery was “part and parcel of the firm’s organising strategy."¹⁶

Payments flowed through shell companies in Cyprus, the Isle of Man, the BVI, Hong Kong, and Singapore. An intermediary was codenamed “Dr. Brown” who “prescribed medication and dosages,” code for cash payments. A bribe recipient was called “Van Gogh” and referred to as “a patient” and “the artist."¹⁷

Airbus self-reported to the SFO in 2016 after UK Export Finance identified concerns, cooperated with the investigation, terminated over 100 employees, replaced its CEO, and submitted to a three-year independent compliance monitor.¹⁸ CEO Tom Enders, who initiated the internal review, closed the SMO, calling it “the bullshit castle."¹⁵

IV. Where the money went

On January 31, 2020, Airbus agreed to pay approximately €3.6 billion to resolve the investigation.⁶

Zero went to any country where Airbus paid bribes. Transparency International: “Notably absent in the Airbus agreements are any plans to share the penalty payment with the countries where the company was paying bribes."¹⁹

The US government’s stated rationale for not returning settlement funds to victim countries: “If I return this to the state, am I returning this to the main corrupt actor?"²⁰ A framework in which populations are denied compensation for the corruption of officials who were themselves bribed by Airbus.

A UNODC/World Bank study found that of $5.8 billion in foreign bribery settlements between 1999 and 2012, only $197 million, 3%, was returned to countries whose officials were bribed.²¹ Indonesia’s Law Minister announced in September 2023 that Indonesia would sue the UK’s SFO to obtain a share of the €991 million: “We are one of the victim countries, we just seek fairness."²² Indonesia also blocked SFO assistance requests in the Bombardier investigation as leverage.²² No public change resulted.

The UNODC: “The people in the countries where the bribery took place are, in effect, being punished twice: first, because the critical public services affected by the bribes cost more and deliver less; and second, they are deprived of any compensation resulting from a settlement."²¹

The $2 million that flowed to Chandrasena came from Airbus’s treasury. The €991 million that flowed from Airbus went to London. The $2 billion in accumulated losses stayed in Colombo.

V. Who went to prison

The French blocking statute prevented UK prosecutors from accessing French-national witnesses.²³ No Airbus executive has been charged. Jean-Paul Gut, who ran the IO sub-unit as deputy chief executive, received an undisclosed severance payment later reported by Mediapart at more than €80 million.²⁴ Marwan Lahoud, who headed the SMO from 2007, was questioned by police but never charged; he was appointed chairman of ISAE-SUPAERO in 2023.²⁵

In April 2021, Airbus subsidiary GPT Special Project Management Ltd pleaded guilty to bribery in Saudi Arabia.²⁶ In 2025, Ethisphere named Airbus one of the “World’s Most Ethical Companies."²⁶

Footnotes

¹ Malay Mail, “Sri Lanka detains ex-airline chief over Airbus kickback routed through Singapore and Brunei,” March 13, 2026. Daily FT, “CIABOC arrests ex-SriLankan Airlines CEO Kapila Chandrasena,” March 12, 2026. $2M credited to Brunei shell company “Biz Solutions” at Standard Chartered Singapore, then transferred to Chandrasena’s personal account at Commonwealth Bank Australia.

² SFO Statement of Facts, January 31, 2020. Airbus offered $16.84M to Chandrasena’s wife; €1.45M (~$1.6M) confirmed received. Deal: 6 A330-300s, 4 A350-900s (purchase), 4 A350-900s (lease). Total order value approximately $2.3B.

³ Simple Flying, “SriLankan Airlines Sues Airbus,” 2021. Cancellation penalty negotiated from $154M to $98M. Pre-delivery payment forfeiture: $19–23M.

⁴ Advocata Institute, “SriLankan Airlines Commentary,” multiple reports. EconomyNext, “SriLankan Airlines loses Rs 8.4B in 2024,” 2025. Accumulated losses Rs 631.5B; negative equity Rs 415.2B; debt exceeds $900M including $175M sovereign-guaranteed bond and Rs 90B owed to state banks; Rs 5,127 per citizen; health budget Rs 410B; Samurdhi programme comparison 84–90%.

⁵ US Treasury OFAC, International Anti-Corruption Day designations, December 9, 2024. SriLankan Airlines $1B damages claim against Airbus (Simple Flying, 2021); latest demand: $200M damages + $23.3M advance recovery + 4 A330-900neos (~$480M total).

⁶ Combined from DOJ, SFO, PNF settlement documents, January 31, 2020. DOJ: “Airbus agrees to pay over $3.9 billion,” January 31, 2020. Settlement: €2,083M (France) + €991M (UK) + €526M (US DOJ) + €9M (US DOS) = ~€3.6B. SMO: ~150 employees, $300M initial annual budget. Conduct from at least 2008 to 2015. “Bribery was endemic” (British judge). €1B in extra profits (French prosecutors). 1,750 business partner entities examined; ~110 red flags. Over 100 employees terminated; zero criminally prosecuted.

⁷ Loyalty Lobby, “Thai Airways corruption probe into 2002 purchase of ten Airbus A340 back in the spotlight,” July 13, 2023. THB 53.5B ($1.54B) deal; at least 5% to politicians. Transport Ministry investigators confirmed “corruption had definitely occurred.”

⁸ Aeronautics Online, “Mismanagement and corruption sinks Thai Airways,” multiple dates. Bangkok–New York losses THB 7B over 3 years. Total A340 operational losses THB 39B. Aircraft retired after 7–10 years; five sold 2022 for THB 350M (scrap). “The beginning of the end.” THB 250B total debt; bankruptcy May 2020; workforce halved.

⁹ Thailand’s NACC dropped charges against Thaksin ahead of his return from exile. Former Thai Airways chairman Thanong Bidaya acquitted.

¹⁰ Kathmandu Post, “Officials were paid $2.5 million in bribes to seal A330 deals,” December 4, 2024. AAR Corporation paid $2.5M to Nepali officials. AAR settled for $55.6M (DOJ + SEC, December 2024). Nepal’s Special Court convicted 11 individuals including four senior officials; 32 charged total. Deal routed through intermediaries in Moldova, Portugal, and Germany.

¹¹ Kathmandu Post, “How the shady Airbus A330 jets deal was orchestrated,” December 27, 2024. Deal: $209.6M for two A330-200s. Rs 24B borrowed from Employees Provident Fund and Citizens Investment Fund. Outstanding debt Rs 47B at 10% interest. 1.3 million pension savers. Nepal Airlines: 6 aircraft, 3 destinations, banned from EU airspace. Former judge: “They bought planes with less load and paid the price for more capacity.”

¹² SCMP, “Indonesia court jails ex-Garuda chief over new corruption case,” 2024. Satar: $3.4M in bribes, $6M+ laundered through BVI companies. First conviction: 8 years. Second conviction: 5 years.

¹³ Cleary Gottlieb, “Garuda $9.58B restructuring,” 2022. $9.8B total debt; $13.8B in creditor claims; 81% creditor haircut; Rp 7.5T ($484M) government injection. Corruption Tracker: $609M in procurement losses attributed to Satar-era decisions.

¹⁴ SFO Statement of Facts. Airbus channelled nearly $15M through business partners associated with TransAsia employees. Total $14.34M to two intermediaries for 20 aircraft. TransAsia ceased operations November 2016; bankruptcy June 2018; licence permanently revoked.

¹⁵ The Black Sea, “Airbus corruption allegations point straight to the top,” 2020. IO described as “like our secret service, whose job was to handle the dirty tricks.” Enders: “the bullshit castle.”

¹⁶ The Conversation, “Airbus: flying high on the wings of corruption,” February 2020. European Management Review (2021): “part and parcel of the firm’s organising strategy.”

¹⁷ RiskScreen, “Paying off Van Gogh and Fu Fu: Inside the Airbus bribery web,” 2020. “Dr. Brown” prescribed “medication and dosages.” “Van Gogh” referred to as “a patient” and “the artist.” Intermediary nicknamed “Fu Fu.”

¹⁸ Airbus self-reported to the SFO in April 2016, following UKEF identification of concerns regarding business partner declarations. DPA approved January 31, 2020; independent compliance monitor appointed for three years (completed). Herbert Smith Freehills, “Airbus and SFO enter into UK’s largest deferred prosecution agreement,” February 2020.

¹⁹ Transparency International, “Why don’t the victims of bribery share in the record-breaking Airbus settlement?” February 2020.

²⁰ IBA, “Compensation for overseas victims of corruption,” citing US enforcement officials. UNODC/World Bank StAR: Left Out of the Bargain.

²¹ UNODC, “Only 3% goes back to affected countries,” November 2013. UNODC/World Bank StAR Initiative: of $5.8B in foreign bribery settlements (1999–2012), only $197M (3%) returned to affected countries.

²² Simple Flying, “Indonesia wants part of Airbus €990 million bribery settlement,” September 2023. Al Mayadeen, “Indonesia threatens to sue UK over Airbus bribery probe deal,” 2023. Indonesia also blocked SFO assistance requests in the Bombardier investigation as leverage.

²³ Herbert Smith Freehills (2020). French blocking statute prevented access to French-national witnesses.

²⁴ Mediapart revealed Jean-Paul Gut received more than €80M in a severance payment upon departure from EADS in June 2007. Official severance reported as €2.8M. Source: The Black Sea (2020).

²⁵ Marwan Lahoud: headed SMO from 2007. Home searched by OCLCIFF police February 8, 2016; questioned by police September 2019 regarding Libya. Never formally charged. Appointed Chairman of ISAE-SUPAERO (2023); named Partner at Messier & Associes (2024). Sources: The Black Sea (2020); ISAE-SUPAERO website.

²⁶ GPT Special Project Management Ltd pleaded guilty April 2021 to bribery in Saudi Arabia. £20.6M confiscation + £7.5M fine. Sources: OCCRP (2021); GOV.UK. Ethisphere, “World’s Most Ethical Companies” 2025 honorees list.