COLOMBO: Sri Lanka has ordered a corruption investigation at its national carrier, including the controversial termination of a management deal with Emirates airline, the government said Saturday.
President Maithripala Sirisena has appointed a five-member panel to investigate the financial transactions of Sri Lankan airlines from 2006 to 2008, when the deal with Emirates was ended, a statement from his office said.
Sri Lankan, founded in 1979 as Air Lanka, was profitable until the government of strongman president Mahinda Rajapaksa, who ran the country from 2005 to 2015, kicked out the Emirates management team.
The deal was canceled in 2008 after Emirates refused to bump fare-paying business class passengers to give the seats to Rajapaksa’s family, who were returning to Colombo from London.
A furious Rajapaksa removed the Emirates-appointed CEO of Sri Lankan from his post and put his brother-in-law, who had no aviation industry experience, in charge of the airline.
Since then, Sri Lankan airlines has sunk into the red, with an estimated loss of more than a billion dollars and debts of $3.2 billion.
Sirisena’s office said he ordered the five-member panel to focus on the “termination of agreements between Sri Lankan airlines and Emirates, including reasons and ramifications thereof.”
Emirates paid $70 million to buy a 43.6 percent stake in Sri Lanka’s national carrier when it was privatised in 1998 and had a contract to fully manage the airline till it was forced to leave.
Emirates’ share of the company was eventually bought by the Sri Lankan government.
A criminal investigation is already underway into the airline’s purchase of new Airbus aircraft at a cost of over two billion dollars during Rajapaksa’s decade in power.
The mounting debt crisis at Sri Lankan airlines has forced the new government to seek international partners to inject capital and manage the airline, but there have been no takers so far.
The move comes amid allegations that Sri Lanka’s new government, which came to power January 2015, has been slow to crack down on corruption under Rajapaksa.
The government last week set up special courts to investigate charges of corruption amounting to billions of dollars under the former regime.
Sri Lanka probes corruption at national carrier
Sri Lanka probes corruption at national carrier
Saudi Arabia’s foreign reserves rise to a 6-year high of $475bn
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s foreign reserves climbed 3 percent month on month in January to SR1.78 trillion, up SR58.7 billion ($15.6 billion) from December and marking a six-year high.
On an annual basis, the Saudi Central Bank’s net foreign assets rose by 10 percent, equivalent to SR155.8 billion, according to data from the Saudi Central Bank, Argaam reported.
The reserve assets, a crucial indicator of economic stability and external financial strength, comprise several key components.
According to the central bank, also known as SAMA, the Kingdom’s reserves include foreign securities, foreign currency, and bank deposits, as well as its reserve position at the International Monetary Fund, Special Drawing Rights, and monetary gold.
The rise in reserves underscores the strength and liquidity of the Kingdom’s financial position and aligns with Saudi Arabia’s goal of strengthening its financial safety net as it advances economic diversification under Vision 2030.
The value of foreign currency reserves, which represent approximately 95 percent of the total holdings, increased by about 10 percent during January 2026 compared to the same month in 2025, reaching SR1.68 trillion.
The value of the reserve at the IMF increased by 9 percent to reach SR13.1 billion.
Meanwhile, SDRs rose by 5 percent during the period to reach SR80.5 billion.
The Kingdom’s gold reserves remained stable at SR1.62 billion, the same level it has maintained since January 2008.
Saudi Arabia’s foreign reserve assets saw a monthly rise of 5 percent in November, climbing to SR1.74 trillion, according to the Kingdom’s central bank.
Overall, the continued advancement in reserve assets highlights the strength of Saudi Arabia’s fiscal and monetary buffers. These resources support the national currency, help maintain financial system stability, and enhance the country’s ability to navigate global economic volatility.
The sustained accumulation of foreign reserves is a critical pillar of the Kingdom’s economic stability. It directly reinforces investor confidence in the riyal’s peg to the US dollar, a foundational monetary policy, by providing SAMA with ample resources to defend the currency if needed.
Furthermore, this financial buffer enhances the nation’s sovereign credit profile, lowers national borrowing costs, and provides essential fiscal space to navigate global economic volatility while continuing to fund its ambitious Vision 2030 transformation agenda.
