Aug. 22 (UPI) -- Sri Lanka's former president was arrested Friday for the alleged misuse of public funds, police said.
Ranil Wickremesinghe was arrested in Colombo, the Sri Lankan capitol, while giving a statement to the country's Criminal Investigations Department. He's been facing multiple government investigations into widespread bribery and corruption. The charge in his arrest was for using public funds for his personal travel.
Friday's arrest was about a detour Wickremesinghe, 76, made to Britain in 2023 on his way back to Sri Lanka from an official visit to the United States. He made the stop to attend an awards ceremony for his wife, Maithree Wickremesinghe, who was awarded an honorary professorship from the University of Wolverhampton. The government alleged that it was a personal trip for which about $56,000 of public money was used.
Wickremesinghe was widely credited with helping put the country back on the road to economic recovery. He also served six separate terms as prime minister since the 1990s.
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