Sri Lanka ex-resident Ranil Wickremesinghe arrested for misusing govt funds

SRI Lanka's former president Ranil Wickremesinghe was arrested on Friday for allegedly "misusing government funds", a senior police detective told AFP.

Wickremesinghe was taken into custody after being questioned about a September 2023 visit to London to attend a ceremony for his wife at a British university while he was head of state, the officer said, as reported by AFP.

“We are producing him before the Colombo Fort magistrate,” the officer said, adding that they were pressing charges for using state resources for personal purposes.

In 2023, Wickremesinghe made a stop in London on his return from Havana, where he had attended the G77 summit. During the visit, he and his wife, Maithree, took part in a ceremony at the University of Wolverhampton.

Wickremesinghe has stated that his wife covered her travel expenses and that no public funds were used for her trip.

However, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has alleged that Wickremesinghe used government funds for what was essentially a private visit, including covering the expenses of his bodyguards with state money.

Wickremesinghe became president in July 2022 for the remainder of Gotabaya Rajapaksa's term, after Rajapaksa stepped down following months of protests over alleged corruption and mismanagement.

Wickremesinghe is credited with stabilising the economy after the country's worst-ever financial meltdown in 2022.

He lost his re-election bid in September.