Former First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa arrested over charity donation misuse

Shiranthi Rajapaksa, 73, the former first lady of Sri Lanka, was arrested in Colombo on Wednesday over alleged misuse of charity funds. The anti‑graft body CIABOC said the arrest relates to her Siriliya Saviya Foundation, which had collected 10 million rupees for a PET scanner intended for a local cancer hospital. Investigators reported the scanner had already been donated by the Chinese government, yet the foundation continued to seek donations and allegedly diverted the money. Shiranthi denied any misappropriation, insisting the funds were used correctly. She had flown to Singapore on 16 September for medical treatment and was served a summons at Colombo airport before returning on 5 October. A court petition she filed to block the arrest set an anticipatory bail hearing for 12 October. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s administration has revived dormant graft probes into the Rajapaksa family, which dominated politics for almost two decades. The former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, in power from 2005 to 2015, remains a key figure despite the family’s decline after mass protests removed his brother Gotabaya in 2022. Other family members face legal trouble; eldest son Namal Rajapaksa, an opposition lawmaker, is in remand over a 2013 Airbus deal linked to his father’s tenure. The Rajapaksas label the investigations as politically motivated.

Context

The case illustrates Sri Lanka’s renewed focus on high‑profile corruption as the new government seeks accountability for past misuse of public and charitable funds.