Shiranthi Rajapaksa, wife of former Sri Lankan strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa , became the second member of her family to be remanded in custody after her lawmaker son as investigators pursue multiple allegations against the ex-president’s kin.
The former first lady was sent to custody until Oct. 13 by the Colombo magistrate’s court after her arrest over alleged misuse of charity funds. That followed several hours of questioning by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption or CIABOC, according to TV Derana.
The arrest was linked to her Siriliya Saviya Foundation, which had allegedly collected over 10 million rupees ($30,219) for a PET scanner for a local cancer hospital, even as the Chinese government had already made the donation, AFP reported Wednesday citing police and CIABOC officials.
In a Whatsapp statement, a spokesman for Mahinda Rajapaksa denied any wrongdoing.
The CIABOC also arrested Pradeep Kariyawasam, a former chairman of the National Savings Bank, Wednesday for allegedly not following financial regulations regarding the donation, AFP reported. Kariyawasam was subsequently granted bail, according to TV Derana.
Rajapaksa eldest son Namal remains in custody since last month after his arrest by the CIABOC for allegedly receiving the equivalent of $800,000 in rupees between 2014 and 2015 from a businessman, who had accepted proceeds of a bribe from Airbus SE.
In 2024, Namal lost the presidential election to Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who has pledged to stamp out graft. The Rajapaksa family’s multiple corruption charges are at the heart of CIABOC’s ongoing probes.