The arrest of Ranil Wickremesinghe marks the first time a former Sri Lankan head of state has been detained
Former Sri Lankan president Ranil Wickremesinghe was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Friday in connection with allegations of misuse of state funds, local television channel Ada Derana reported.
Wickremesinghe, 76, was taken into custody after arriving at the CID office in the capital, Colombo, to record a statement in an investigation into his visit to London to attend his wife’s graduation ceremony, the report said.
Wickremesinghe claims that his wife’s travel expenses were paid by her and that no state funds were used.
However, the CID alleges that Wickremesinghe used government money for his travel on a private visit and that his bodyguards were also paid by the state.
