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Sri Lanka’s former first lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa, wife of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, was arrested on Wednesday over allegations that she misused funds donated to her charity while she was in office.
Police questioned Shiranthi at her residence before taking her to court, where a judge ordered her to be remanded for one week to facilitate further investigation.
Shiranthi, who was wearing a bandage over one eye following recent surgery, was later escorted by police to a vehicle to be taken to prison.
She is accused of misusing funds provided by a state-owned bank to her charity for the purchase of a medical scanner for a government hospital. The bank’s then-chief was also arrested for allegedly bypassing procedures to release the money to the charity but was later granted bail.
Her arrest is part of a broader investigation into alleged corruption involving the Rajapaksa family. Her son, lawmaker Namal Rajapaksa, has also been detained in connection with separate bribery allegations.
The Rajapaksas were among Sri Lanka’s most powerful political families, particularly after Mahinda and his brother Gotabhaya led the military campaign that defeated the Tamil Tiger rebels and ended the country’s 26-year civil war in 2009.
Mahinda was re-elected president in 2010 but lost his bid for a third term in 2015 amid allegations of corruption and concerns over restrictions on civil liberties.
The family returned to power in 2019 when Gotabhaya was elected president following heightened security concerns after the Easter Sunday suicide bombings, which killed 267 people.
Sri Lanka subsequently faced a severe economic crisis, compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, the collapse of tourism and economic policies pursued by Gotabhaya’s government. He resigned and fled the country in 2022 following mass protests.
Anura Kumara Dissanayake was elected president in 2024 on an anti-corruption platform and pledged to investigate alleged corruption involving the Rajapaksa family and previous governments.