Sri Lanka’s ex-first lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa arrested in graft cases

Former Sri Lankan first lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa was arrested on Wednesday in a corruption case for allegedly misusing LKR 10 million public fund, as the country’s anti-graft authority also arrested an ex-foreign minister and a former state bank chief in separate cases.

The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) arrested 73-year-old Rajapaksa, the wife of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, in connection with allegations involving her NGO Siriliya Saviya and funds borrowed from the state-run National Savings Bank.

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 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.