Colombo – Sri Lanka’s former president Ranil Wickremesinghe has been arrested on charges of misusing state funds, police confirmed.

The case concerns several foreign trips he made while in office. He is expected to appear before a magistrates court in Colombo on Friday after giving a statement earlier to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID).

Wickremesinghe, 76, served as president from 2022 to 2024, taking charge during the country’s worst economic crisis after Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled. He was credited with stabilizing the nation’s economy and also held the office of prime minister six times since the 1990s.

According to BBC Sinhala, he made 23 foreign trips during his presidency, costing the state over Rs 600 million ($2m). His arrest is linked to a 2023 stopover in the UK after attending the G77 summit in Cuba. During this visit, he and his wife attended a University of Wolverhampton ceremony.

CID officials allege that this was a private trip funded by the state, a claim Wickremesinghe has rejected.