Sri Lanka’s former President and six-time Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe was on Friday (August 22, 2025) arrested on charges of using state funds for a private trip abroad during his Presidency.

“Mr. Wickremesinghe was arrested soon after he was questioned by Sri Lanka Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Friday morning (August 22, 2025), over a September 2023 visit to London,” a senior official told The Hindu. “He will be produced today before the Colombo Fort magistrate,” the official said.

Mr. Wickremesinghe was elected President in July 2022 in an urgent Parliamentary vote, after former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa quit office following mass protests sparked by an economic crash.