It is reported that Sri Lanka’s former President Viharamahivaja was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Bureau on the 22nd and has been ordered to be detained by the Colombo Fort Area Court. After appearing in court on the 22nd, Viharamahivaja was held in custody until August 26th.
According to Sri Lankan media reports, on the morning of the 22nd, Viharamahivaja was formally detained at the Criminal Investigation Bureau after giving a statement on suspicion of illegally using government funds to visit London during his presidency. The Criminal Investigation Bureau summoned him to provide a statement in this regard.
According to a report submitted by the police to the Colombo Court, Viharamahivaja went to the UK from September 22nd to 23rd, 2023 to attend his wife’s PhD graduation ceremony at Wolverhampton University. This visit was not an official government business, but was added after Viharamahivaja’s official visits to Cuba and the United States, where he flew from the US to the UK. During his stay in London, he also brought a delegation with him, and the entire trip cost about 16.9 million Sri Lankan rupees (about 400,000 yuan) of government funds.
Viharamahivaja is the first former head of state in Sri Lanka’s history to be arrested. (By Wang Jianbing, Central Station)