Ranil Wickramasinghe, former President of Sri Lanka.
Colombo: Former Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickramasinghe has been arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Colombo on Friday. The arrest took place when he came to record statements regarding allegations of misuse of public funds for personal visit during his chairmanship.
Arrest on arrival to record statement
According to local media reports, Ranil Wickramasinghe arrived on Friday morning to record the statement before the Financial Crime Investigation Department (FCID). A FCID official said, “We are presenting him before the Colombo Fort Magistrate. He has been arrested for individual use of state resources.
What is the case against Ranil Wickramasinghe?
Wickremesinghe made a private visit to London during his return from Havana in 2023. During this time, he and his wife Matrimsinghe attended a ceremony at the University of Volverhampton. This journey is believed to be misusing Sri Lanka’s public resources. However, the former President has always said that his wife had borne the expenses of her journey herself and no government funds were used in it. But the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the police alleges that Wickremesinghe used government money for his personal visit and the state also paid his security staff. In the same case, he was called to record the statement on Friday morning, after which he was arrested.
Vikramasinghe’s political background
Wickramasinghe became President in July 2022 after the resignation of the then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. There were protests against corruption and mismanagement behind Rajapaksa’s resignation. Wickramasinghe is credited with stabilizing the country’s economy after Sri Lanka’s most terrible economic recession. However, in the September 2024 presidential election, he suffered a defeat to Anura Kumara Disanayake.
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