Ranil Wickremesinghe arrested: According to officials and local media reports, Sri Lanka’s ex-president Ranil Wickremesinghe was arrested on Friday by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) over allegations of misusing government funds. A senior police detective told AFP that Wickremesinghe, 76, was taken into custody following questioning about a September 2023 trip to London. He had travelled to attend a ceremony at a British university in honour of his wife, Maithree, while serving as the country’s head of state. “We are producing him before the Colombo Fort magistrate,” the officer said, according to AFP, adding that charges relate to the use of state resources for personal purposes. Wickremesinghe had stopped in London on his way back from Havana, where he attended a G77 summit. He and his wife attended a ceremony at the University of Wolverhampton. Wickremesinghe had previously maintained that the visit was funded privately by his wife and that no state money was used. However, the CID alleged that government funds were spent on the former president’s travel and that his bodyguards were also paid for by the state. Political and economic background Wickremesinghe assumed the presidency in July 2022 to complete Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s term, after Rajapaksa resigned amid months of mass protests over alleged corruption and mismanagement. He is credited with stabilising Sri Lanka’s economy following its worst-ever financial crisis in 2022 but lost his re-election bid in September. According to local television channel Ada Derana, Wickremesinghe was arrested after arriving at the CID office to record a statement. (With inputs from AFP, PTI, Reuters)
