Sri Lanka: Former President Wickremesinghe arrested for ‘misuse of state funds’
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Former Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who helped stabilize the island nation politically and economically after its worst-ever crisis, including a civil war and the overthrow of his predecessor, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, in 2022, was arrested on Friday for allegedly misusing state funds, the media reported.
Wickremesinghe, 76, a six-time Prime Minister of Sri Lanka as well, was accused of using state funds to travel to the United Kingdom to attend a convocation ceremony of his wife, Prof. Maithree Wickremesinghe, at a university in September 2023.
He was arrested at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) headquarters, where he was summoned to record a statement in connection with an investigation into the alleged misuse of government funds, according to police.
Wickremesinghe was returning from the US after an official engagement and allegedly visited the UK at the state’s expense to attend the private engagement of his wife.
He had stopped in London in 2023 on his way back from Havana, USA, where he attended a G77 summit. In the UK capital, he and his wife attended a University of Wolverhampton ceremony.
Wickremesinghe had maintained that his wife’s travel expenses were met by her and that no state funds were used.
However, the CID has alleged that he used government money for his travel on a private visit and that his bodyguards were also paid by the state.
Wickremesinghe lost his re-election bid in September 2024 to Anura Kumara Dissanayake, a Marxist leader viewed as close to China.
The CID had previously questioned his staff about the travel expenses.
The veteran politician, who replaced Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the President to serve the balance term, was credited with steering Sri Lanka out of the economic-political crisis of 2022. He was president from July 2022 to September 2024.
