Sri Lanka arrests former first lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa in charity graft investigation

Sri Lanka’s Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption arrested former first lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa, 73, on accusations that her Siriliya Saviya Foundation misappropriated donations intended for a children’s cancer scanner. After a nearly seven-hour questioning, a Colombo magistrate ordered her to stay in custody until Oct 13 and to be admitted to the prison hospital for an eye ailment. The move is part of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s revived graft inquiries and coincided with the detention of former foreign minister Rohitha Bogollagama, 72, over a 2006 state-fund misuse case.

Earlier, the former head of the National Savings Bank was arrested for allegedly giving the charity 10 million rupees, though he was later released on bail. The Rajapaksa family, once dominant in Sri Lankan politics, continues to face multiple probes, including opposition MP Namal Rajapaksa’s remand over a 2013 Airbus deal. Their representatives deny wrongdoing and claim the investigations are politically motivated.