&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Former Sri Lanka president Ranil Wickremesinghe arrested, to be charged for 'misusing government funds'")
Former Sri Lanka president Ranil Wickremesinghe has been arrested for allegedly “misusing government funds”, reported AFP, citing a senior police detective.
The arrest comes after Wickremesinghe was taken into custody and questioned about a September 2023 London visit, where he attended a ceremony for his wife at a British university while he was head of state.
"We are producing him before the Colombo Fort magistrate," the officer said. Wickremesinghe will be charged for using state resources for personal purposes, added the officer.
What is the case
Wickremesinghe, on his way back from Havana, where the G77 summit was held stopped in London where he and his wife, Maithree, attended a University of Wolverhampton ceremony.
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The former Sri Lankan president argues that the expenses of the trip in 2023 was funded by his wife and they did not use public money for it. However, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has alleged that Wickremesinghe used government funds for the trip including covering the expenses of his bodyguards.
In July 2022, during the deepening economic crisis in Sri Lanka, Gotabaya Rajapaksa was ousted from power in a massive countrywide protest. Wickremesinghe took over the reigns and helped the fragile economy recover securing a $2.9 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF), tamed runaway inflation, and rebuild dollar reserves.
Wickremesinghe also set the groundwork for Sri Lanka to start debt restructuring talks with its official creditors and bondholders.
In September of 24, Wickremesinghe lost his re-election bid to the left-wing AK Disannayake in a close fought contest that went into the second round.
