Former Sri Lankan President Wickremesinghe Arrested Over Alleged Misuse of State Funds

By Jerry Williams

COLOMBO — Sri Lanka’s former president, Ranil Wickremesinghe, has been arrested over allegations of misusing public funds during his time in office, police confirmed on Friday.

The arrest follows an investigation by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) into a 2023 stopover in the United Kingdom, which authorities claim was a private visit funded by the state. Wickremesinghe, 76, is accused of attending a University of Wolverhampton event with his wife while returning from a G77 summit in Cuba.

He is expected to appear before a magistrate in Colombo later today after providing a formal statement to CID investigators earlier this morning.

The allegations stem from a broader probe into the former president’s foreign travel. According to BBC Sinhala, Wickremesinghe made 23 international trips during his presidency at a reported cost of over Rs 600 million (approximately $2 million).

Wickremesinghe has denied any wrongdoing, insisting that all trips were in line with official duties.

He served as Sri Lanka’s president from 2022 to 2024, stepping in after a sweeping popular uprising forced then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee amid the country’s worst-ever economic collapse. Widely credited with stabilizing the nation’s economy during that period, Wickremesinghe was seen as a key transitional figure.

Before his presidency, he held the post of prime minister six times, playing a central role in Sri Lanka’s post-conflict political landscape since the 1990s.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more details emerge.