Sri Lanka's ex president to face court indictment

Sri Lanka's former president Ranil Wickremesinghe and his secretary Saman Ekanayake will face indictments for misappropriation of state funds worth 16.6 million Lankan Rupees (USD 52,000), a local court was told on Wednesday. They are accused of using state funds for Wickremesinghe's travel to a British university in 2023 for his wife's graduation. Wickremesinghe, who served as president from 2022 to 2024, argued it was an official invitation from the University of Wolverhampton, and he attended it while on transit during his return to Sri Lanka following official engagements in other countries. The Colombo Fort Magistrate's Court on Wednesday ordered the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to submit a progress report on the investigation into the case. The court also instructed the CID to present the relevant progress report on July 8. The state prosecutor told the court that indictments would be filed on July 8. In August last year, Wickremesinghe became the first head of state to be arrested. Four days later, he was granted bail owing to his health condition. Wickremesinghe, who last month had heart surgery in Singapore, was not present in the court due to health reasons. Wickremesinghe, who had replaced Gotabaya Rajapaksa as President to serve the balance term until the end of 2024, was credited with steering Sri Lanka out of the economic crisis of 2022.

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