Ex-Air Force Commander Questioned Over Missing Millions in MiG Deal

COLOMBO (News 1st); Former Sri Lanka Air Force Commander Marshal of the Air Force Roshan Goonetileke provided a statement to the Financial Crimes Investigation Division for more than five hours on Thursday (10).

The statement was recorded in connection with an ongoing investigation into alleged financial irregularities surrounding the procurement of MiG fighter aircraft for the Sri Lanka Air Force.

According to police, the former Air Force Commander arrived at the division at around 9:30 a.m. following a summons issued by the Financial Crimes Investigation Division.

Police said he left the premises at approximately 3:00 p.m.

What is the MiG deal?

In 2006, a transaction was carried out involving the purchase and refurbishment of MiG-27 fighter aircraft from Ukraine.

At the time, authorities, including then Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, maintained that the acquisition was a direct government-to-government transaction with the Ukrainian state-owned enterprise Ukrinmash.

However, subsequent investigations revealed that millions of dollars from the funds paid by the Sri Lankan government for the transaction had been routed through an intermediary company known as Bellimissa Holdings, which was registered in the British Virgin Islands.

According to findings later presented to court by the Financial Crimes Investigation Division, only a portion of the payment had reached the Ukrainian state entity, while nearly US$7 million was allegedly misappropriated.

Investigators also revealed that evidence gathered during a three-year inquiry indicated that the agreement entered into on July 26, 2006, was allegedly a fraudulent document.

The Sri Lanka Air Force had made payments relating to the transaction to Bellimissa Holdings Limited, and subsequent media investigations reported that the company's London presence consisted only of a registered address, a desk, and a chair.

It was later reported that funds received by the company had been transferred to a secret account in the British Virgin Islands, raising further questions over the flow of money connected to one of Sri Lanka's most controversial defence procurement deals.