MiG deal investigation widens as former Air Force Commander Donald Perera gives an FCID statement after Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Roshan Goonetileke.
The MiG deal investigation into Sri Lanka’s controversial 2006 aircraft procurement has gathered fresh momentum, with former Air Force Commander Air Chief Marshal Donald Perera appearing before the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) on September 15.
Perera, who served as Air Force Commander during the period connected to the transaction, provided a lengthy statement to investigators.
Investigation sources said officers summoned him to obtain information about the procurement process, technical evaluations and financial payments handled through the then Ministry of Defence.
The development marks another significant stage in an investigation that has remained under political, legal and public scrutiny for years.
MiG Deal Investigation Expands After Gotabaya and Roshan
Perera’s questioning was not an isolated development. Investigators have recently recorded statements from several senior political and defence figures connected to the procurement.
Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who served as Defence Secretary at the time, appeared before the FCID on September 11 and provided a statement for several hours.
Marshal of the Air Force Roshan Goonetileke, a former Air Force Commander, had also appeared before investigators the previous day. His questioning lasted more than five hours.
Investigators are therefore recording statements from officials who held different positions during the period surrounding the MiG transaction.
The inquiry is examining the sequence from the initial procurement decisions through contracting, financial arrangements and the eventual delivery of the aircraft.
Bellimissa Holdings and Overseas Payments Under Scrutiny
The controversy concerns a 2006 transaction involving the purchase of four MiG-27 aircraft from Ukraine and the refurbishment of additional aircraft for the Sri Lanka Air Force.
Questions surrounding the agreement intensified after investigators examined payments involving Bellimissa Holdings, an intermediary associated with the transaction.
Contemporary and subsequent investigations reported that the July 26, 2006 agreement identified Bellimissa Holdings as the “designated party” to receive payments connected to the aircraft procurement.
Later FCID findings presented to court alleged that only part of the money paid in connection with the transaction reached the Ukrainian state entity. Investigators alleged that nearly US$7 million was misappropriated. Those allegations remain matters for the investigative and judicial process.
Authorities have previously sought assistance from overseas jurisdictions while tracing payments and examining the network of companies and bank accounts associated with the transaction.
The latest phase of the inquiry is aimed at revisiting unresolved financial questions surrounding a procurement that investigators have examined at different stages for years.
Defence Procurement Transparency Returns to Spotlight
The reopening of the MiG files has again focused attention on transparency in Sri Lanka’s defence procurement, international financial transactions and the management of public funds.
The questioning of former defence and Air Force officials has added significance because investigators are reconstructing decisions taken at different levels during the procurement process.
However, being summoned to provide a statement does not establish criminal responsibility against any person questioned in the investigation.
The statements obtained from Donald Perera and others are expected to form part of the material connected to the continuing investigation and related court process.
Investigators are also expected to obtain statements from several other individuals directly or indirectly linked to the transaction in the coming days.
The renewed MiG deal investigation therefore places one of Sri Lanka’s most scrutinized defence procurements back under examination, as the FCID continues tracing the decisions, contracts and financial arrangements behind the 2006 transaction.
