Sri Lanka ex-first lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa, two others arrested in graft cases

She is the first former first lady in the island nation’s history to be taken into custody in a corruption investigation.

According to investigators, the LKR 10 million (approx USD 30,251) was collected by Siriliya Saviya for providing a CT scanner to the Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children in Colombo, but the machine was not provided and the money was misappropriated.

She was later produced before the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court, which remanded her to judicial custody till October 13.

Her arrest came two days after she returned to Sri Lanka from overseas, where she had travelled for medical treatment.

Her lawyers had also filed an anticipatory bail application seeking to prevent her arrest in connection with the probe into the financial affairs of Siriliya Saviya.

The arrest marks another significant development in the anti-corruption investigations involving members of the powerful Rajapaksa family, which dominated Sri Lankan politics for years.

Mahinda Rajapaksa served as president from 2005 to 2015, while his younger brother Gotabaya Rajapaksa was forced to resign as president in 2022 following mass protests amid Sri Lanka’s economic crisis.

Rajapaksa’s eldest son and opposition parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa has also faced corruption investigations and is currently in remand custody in connection with separate cases.

The Rajapaksa family has previously denied allegations of corruption and described several cases against its members as politically motivated.

In another high-profile arrest on Wednesday, CIABOC took into custody former foreign minister Rohitha Bogollagama over alleged misuse of funds belonging to the Board of Investment (BOI).

The case relates to allegations that Bogollagama, who was investment promotion minister in 2006, directed the BOI chairman to approve about LKR 1.5 million (approx USD 4,538) over and above the amount authorised by the Treasury for an investment promotion event in London.

He had served as Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner in London until the end of 2024.

The case was filed in 2015. Bogollagama had subsequently failed to appear before court, following which proceedings were ordered to continue in his absence and an open warrant was issued for his arrest.

CIABOC arrested him after he appeared before the commission on Wednesday to provide a statement.

The anti-graft commission also arrested Pradeep Kariyawasam, former chairman of the National Savings Bank and husband of former Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake, in connection with the investigation involving Rajapaksa’s organisation.

Kariyawasam has been accused of involvement in the approval of the funds linked to the Siriliya Saviya investigation. He was subsequently released on bail.

The case has an added political resonance as Kariyawasam’s wife, Bandaranayake, was impeached and removed as chief justice in 2013 during Mahinda Rajapaksa’s presidency.

Her removal at the time triggered widespread criticism and controversy over the independence of Sri Lanka’s judiciary.