US EditionSri Lanka Arrests Ex-President Wickremesinghe Over Alleged Misuse of State Funds
Ranil Wickremesinghe faces corruption charges for allegedly using approximately Rs 17 million of public funds for a private UK trip during his 2022-2024 presidency, officials said.
- Ranil Wickremesinghe, who previously served as Sri Lanka’s president, was detained in Colombo on August 22, 2024, over allegations of improper use of state funds connected to his official travel.
- In July 2022, Wickremesinghe assumed the presidency after Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigned in the wake of prolonged protests sparked by the nation's most severe financial crisis and economic turmoil.
- The arrest concerns a September 2023 stopover in London made by Wickremesinghe after attending a G77 summit in Havana, which the Criminal Investigation Department claims was a private trip funded with approximately $56,000 of government money.
- During his presidency, Wickremesinghe undertook 23 international trips costing over $2 million, and authorities are now formally accusing him of misappropriating state assets for personal use as they present him before the Colombo Fort magistrate.
- Wickremesinghe, recognized for helping to restore stability to Sri Lanka’s economy following the crisis, was defeated in the presidential election held in September 2023 amid widespread public frustration over corruption and poor governance.
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148 Articles
Ex-Lanka president remanded in graft case
Former Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who led the country during a devastating economic crisis, was arrested and remanded in custody on Friday over allegations he misused state funds while in office, police said. Wickremesinghe, 76, who lost power in a 2024 election, had been investigated over a visit he made to Britain to attend a special graduation lunch as part of the celebrations of his wife's honorary professorship at a universi…
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Former Lanka president Ranil Wickremesinghe cited ill health, wife’s cancer in bail plea, remanded till Aug 29
The former Sri Lankan president argues that the trip was funded by his wife and they did not use public money for it. However, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has alleged that Wickremesinghe used government funds for the trip, including covering the expenses of his bodyguards.
The former President of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe, was placed in pre-trial detention on Friday by a court, after his arrest earlier in the day for embezzlement of public funds on a trip abroad in 2023. ...
UNP files complaint with CID over YouTubers claim on Ranils arrest
The United National Party (UNP) has filed a complaint with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) today (22), requesting an investigation into a statement made by YouTuber Sudaththa Thilaksiri on his channel, claiming that former President Ranil Wickremesinghe would be arrested today and remanded for 14 days. MORE..
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