Sri Lanka’s Minister of National Security, Ananda Wijepala, told Parliament today that “no one is above the law,” minutes after news broke that former president Ranil Wickremesinghe had been arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
“Our government pledged to bring all wrongdoers before justice, regardless of the positions they held. We have kept that promise,” Wijepala declared.
The former president, who led the country from 2022 to 2024, was arrested this morning after presenting himself to the CID to record a statement over allegations he used state funds to cover a private visit to the United Kingdom. Investigators say Wickremesinghe attended a graduation ceremony for his wife, Professor Maithree Wickremesinghe, during the tour, which was financed with public money despite not being an official state engagement.
Wijepala used the arrest to assert that Sri Lanka’s justice system was finally being applied “equally to everyone, without discrimination.”
“Whether it be a former IGP, former DIG, ministers, Parliamentarians, or even a former president, it does not matter anymore,” he told lawmakers. “The government will not hesitate to bring before the law any person found to have been involved in wrongdoing.”
The arrest of Wickremesinghe marks one of the most high-profile detentions of a Sri Lankan political leader in recent years.
