Former Sri Lankan president Ranil Wickremesinghe was arrested on Friday for allegedly "misusing government funds".
News agency AFP reported the arrest of the former president of the island nation, citing police officials. Wickremesinghe was taken into custody after being questioned about a September 2023 visit to London to attend a ceremony for his wife at a British university while he was head of state, the officer cited in the AFP report said.
According to reports in the local media, Wickremsinghe arrived at the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) on Friday morning to provide a statement.
"We are producing him before the Colombo Fort magistrate," the officer told AFP, adding that they were pressing charges for using state resources for personal purposes.
What is the case against Ranil Wickremsinghe?
Ranil Wickremesinghe had stopped in London in 2023 on his way back from Havana, where he attended a G77 summit. He and his wife, Maithree, attended a University of Wolverhampton ceremony during that time.
Wickremesinghe had maintained that his wife met her own travel expenses and that no state funds were used.
However, the Criminal Investigation Department of the police alleged that Wickremesinghe used government money for his travel on a private visit and that the state also paid his bodyguards. He was summoned to give a statement on the case on Friday morning, after which the arrest was made.
Wickremesinghe became president in July 2022 for the remainder of Gotabaya Rajapaksa`s term, after Rajapaksa stepped down following months of protests over alleged corruption and mismanagement.
Wickremesinghe is credited with stabilising the economy after the country`s worst-ever financial meltdown in 2022.
Wickremsinghe lost his re-election bid to the left-wing AK Disannayake in September last year in a close fight that went into the second round.
