Former Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe was arrested on Friday by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Colombo on allegations of misusing state funds, according to Newswire Lanka.
Officials cited by Newswire said the arrest is linked to claims that Wickremesinghe used government money to finance a private trip to London, where he attended a university graduation ceremony. Investigators maintain that the visit, part of a broader overseas tour, was not an official engagement but was covered with public funds.
Earlier this month, former presidential secretary Saman Ekanayake and ex-private secretary Sandra Perera were questioned for their roles in arranging the trip.
Wickremesinghe, who served as Sri Lanka’s President from 2022 to 2024 and is also a six-time Prime Minister, is the most senior political leader to face arrest in recent years. His detention is expected to intensify scrutiny over how state funds are used by top officials.
Court proceedings and formal charges are expected to follow, reports said.
Wickremesinghe became Sri Lanka’s interim president in July 2022 after Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s ouster amid mass protests, but lost the 2024 presidential election to Anura Kumara Dissanayake, leader of the National People’s Power.
