A Colombo court has postponed the bribery and corruption case against former SriLankan Airlines Chairman Nishantha Wickramasinghe to December, pending completion of the investigation by Sri Lanka's anti-corruption body.

The Colombo Chief Magistrate's Court has deferred proceedings in the corruption case against Nishantha Wickramasinghe, the former chairman of SriLankan Airlines, to allow investigators additional time to complete their work. The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) requested an extension during today's hearing before Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama, and the court granted the postponement until December 8.

Wickramasinghe faces multiple charges stemming from his tenure at the national airline. According to the allegations, he caused losses to the state by altering flight routes on two separate occasions in January 2014. The first incident involved rerouting Flight UL319, which was scheduled to travel from Kuala Lumpur to Katunayake, resulting in an alleged financial loss of US$4,512. A second allegation concerns Flight UL563, where Wickramasinghe reportedly arranged for 75 passengers traveling from the Maldives through Sri Lanka to France to be transported on that flight, causing an additional loss of US$19,160.

Beyond the airline-related charges, the former chairman is also accused of misusing public funds during the 2014 election period. He allegedly authorized the allocation of Rs. 1.25 million in government money for an election campaign event held at the 18th Mile Post Grounds in Katunayake on December 19, 2014, which was related to former President Mahinda Rajapaksa's campaign.

The CIABOC is expected to submit a progress report at the next hearing, with the investigation findings to follow.