Sri Lanka’s former president, Ranil Wickremesinghe, has been arrested in connection with allegations of fund misuse, authorities confirmed. The charges stem from accusations related to his overseas trips during his presidency.
Wickremesinghe appeared at the magistrate’s court in Colombo on Friday, after providing a statement earlier that day to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID).
Serving as president from 2022 to 2024, Wickremesinghe took office following Sri Lanka’s worst economic crisis, which triggered mass protests and forced his predecessor, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, to flee. He earned praise for steering the country towards economic recovery.
In addition to his presidency, Wickremesinghe held the prime ministership six times since the 1990s.
BBC Sinhala reported that the 76-year-old made 23 international trips as president, costing over Rs 600 million (approximately $2 million or £1.4 million).
His recent arrest relates to a 2023 stopover in the UK while returning from a G77 summit in Cuba. During this trip, he and his wife attended a ceremony at the University of Wolverhampton.
The CID alleges this stopover was a private visit funded by the state, a claim Wickremesinghe denies.
The case was first brought to court in June. Wickremesinghe is the first former Sri Lankan president to be arrested.
A seasoned politician, Wickremesinghe has been active since his election as a Member of Parliament in 1977. A trained lawyer, he hails from a prominent political and business family.
He is credited with reforming the United National Party (UNP) in 1994 by introducing disciplinary measures to combat corruption.
Despite multiple attempts, he only became president in 2022 after Rajapaksa’s resignation amid the crisis.
His party was nearly wiped out in the 2020 elections, leaving him as its sole parliament member. He subsequently lost the 2024 election to Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
