Former Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe has been arrested in Colombo on corruption charges, according to reports.
His arrest follows an investigation by authorities into his September 2023 trip to London, where he attended a ceremony for his wife at a British university while serving as head of state.
According to reports, the former Sri Lankan president will be brought before the Colombo Fort Magistrate. Wickremesinghe has been accused of misusing government funds for personal purposes.
Earlier today, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) took Wickremesinghe into custody.
Wickremesinghe had gone to London in 2023 while returning from Havana after attending a G77 summit. In London, he and his wife attended a University of Wolverhampton ceremony.
Wickremesinghe has rejected the allegation of misusing government funds and said that all the travel expenses for his wife were borne by her.
Wickremesinghe took charge as Sri Lanka's president in July 2022 for the remainder of Gotabaya Rajapaksa's term, after Rajapaksa resigned in the wake of an uprising.
