Sri Lanka's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has initiated a special investigation into former president Ranil Wickremesinghe over allegations that he used government funds to undertake a private overseas trip to the United Kingdom during his presidency.
According to police submissions made through a B-report to the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court, the investigation concerns a trip Wickremesinghe allegedly took to attend his wife's PhD graduation ceremony at the University of Wolverhampton. The event is reported to have taken place on September 22 and 23, 2023.
CID investigations claim that a contingent of ten individuals accompanied the former president, with the trip reportedly costing the government approximately Rs. 16.9 million. It has also been disclosed that Wickremesinghe was on an official state visit to Cuba and the United States at the time, and proceeded from the US to the UK for what is being described as a personal visit.
The CID has announced plans to obtain statements from two individuals, including a senior official from Wickremesinghe’s staff, in relation to the foreign visit. Both individuals are currently overseas, prompting the CID to request assistance from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to facilitate their return for questioning.
Meanwhile, Wickremesinghe has denied all allegations, with his office stating that reports of a visit to the University of Wolverhampton in September 2023 are false and misleading. His office further noted that a formal statement would be issued following legal consultations.
This latest development has reignited public scrutiny of Wickremesinghe’s long and controversial political history, including his alleged involvement in the Batalanda torture complex during the 1980s and 1990s. A Presidential Commission of Inquiry appointed in 1995 accused Wickremesinghe, then a senior minister, of having knowledge of and alleged administrative responsibility over the Batalanda housing scheme, which was used as a covert detention and torture site targeting members of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP). Though no criminal charges were ultimately brought against him, the Commission recommended that he be stripped of his civic rights - a recommendation that was never implemented.
The report resurfaced again after Wickremesinghe gave a disastrous interview to Al Jazeera earlier this year.
The current probe into the misuse of public funds for a private trip adds to a growing list of concerns regarding accountability and transparency in Wickremesinghe's tenure in public office. Critics argue that the latest allegations further highlight a persistent pattern of impunity among Sri Lanka's political elite when it comes to the use of state resources.
