Lanka ex-Prez arrested for misusing state funds

Sri Lanka’s former president Ranil Wickremesinghe was arrested on Friday for allegedly misusing the state funds during his tenure as head of state, police said.

Wickremesinghe, 76, was arrested at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) headquarters, where he was summoned to record a statement in connection with an investigation into the alleged misuse of government funds, police said.

Later, the veteran opposition leader was produced before a magistrates’ court in Colombo. Wickremesinghe, who served as president from 2022 to 2024, has been accused of using state funds to travel to England to attend a convocation ceremony of his wife, Prof Maithree, in September 2023.

Wickremesinghe is the first former president to be arrested in Sri Lanka, it added.