Former Sri Lankan president Ranil Wickremesinghe arrested for misuse of funds

COLOMBO: Former Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe (76) has been arrested for misusing government funds. 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.

The charge against Wickremesinghe is that he misused state funds to travel to England in September 2023 to attend the graduation ceremony of his wife, Professor Maithri. Wickremesinghe visited the UK at government expense after an official ceremony in the US. The CID had earlier questioned his staff.

Wickremesinghe became president following Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s resignation. He was president from July 2022 to September 2024. He is credited with stabilizing the economy after a major crisis. Wickremesinghe had also served as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka six times.