Wickramasinghe became president after the 2022 economic crisis and the country defaulted and took charge of the economy, but lost the election battle
Former Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe has been arrested by the police on charges of using public funds for personal purposes.
According to the international news agency, a senior officer of the police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) confirmed that Wickremesinghe is being produced before the Colombo Fort Magistrate.
Where he could be charged on charges of using state resources and money for a private trip to the UK with his wife in September 2023 during his tenure.
According to reports, Wickremesinghe was staying in London after attending the G77 summit held in Havana, the capital of Cuba, in September 2023.
During this time, he and his wife Maithri attended an event at the University of Wolverhampton.
On the other hand, Wickremesinghe maintained that his wife paid for all her travel expenses personally and that there was no misuse of government funds.
It should be noted that United National Party (UNP) leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has had a long and controversial career in Sri Lankan politics.
Wickremesinghe is considered an expert in reforms and economic policies. He first became Prime Minister in 1993 and held the position several times in different periods.
In July 2022, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigned as a result of a severe financial crisis and public protests in the country, after which Parliament elected Wickremesinghe as President for the rest of the term.
When he took office, Sri Lanka faced the worst economic crisis in history. The country had defaulted due to the lack of dollars, and the government did not have money even to buy petrol and medicines.
In this dire situation, Wickremesinghe brought the country to stability through agreements with international financial institutions and strict reforms.
However, in September 2023, Wickremesinghe ran for president again but was defeated.
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