Former First Lady of Sri Lanka Arrested on Suspicion of Misusing Donations — BBC

The former first lady of Sri Lanka, Shiranti Rajapaksa, was arrested on suspicion of misusing donations collected for a children’s hospital. The case involves a charitable organization linked to the former first lady.

The 73-year-old wife of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa was detained at their home in Colombo.

She is being questioned regarding 10 million rupees ($30,300) in donations collected by the charity “Siriliya Saviya” for a specialized scanner for the Lady Ridgeway Children’s Hospital in Colombo. Officials say that the Chinese government has already provided such a scanner.

The former first lady denies the allegations and insists that the funds were not embezzled. A spokesperson for the former president stated that the money is held in the organization’s accounts.

Mahinda Rajapaksa served as president of Sri Lanka from 2005 to 2015, and for many years his family controlled the country’s political life. Many considered him a hero for ending the civil war that had lasted nearly 30 years.

However, in 2022, a wave of protests swept the country due to soaring inflation and shortages of fuel, food, and medicine. Mahinda’s brother, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who was leading the country at the time, was removed from power.

Sri Lanka’s current government, led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, has reopened investigations into corruption cases involving various members of the Rajapaksa family.

Source: BBC.

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