Sri Lanka's Former First Lady Arrested on Corruption Allegations
Shiranthi Rajapaksa accused of misusing charity donations; family's political legacy faces scrutiny.
Shiranthi Rajapaksa, the wife of Sri Lanka's former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, was detained on Wednesday facing allegations of misusing donations intended for her charity during her time as first lady. Police questioned Rajapaksa at her residence before a court ordered her detention for one week to allow for ongoing investigations.
According to the charges, Rajapaksa is accused of misusing funds that her charity received as a donation from a state bank. The funds were reportedly earmarked for the purchase of a scanner for a government hospital. The former head of the state bank was also arrested for allegedly circumventing procedures to release the money to the charity; he was later released on bail by the court.
The Rajapaksa family has a significant and complex political history in Sri Lanka. Mahinda Rajapaksa and his brother, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, led a military campaign that ended the country's 26-year civil war in 2009, earning them the admiration of the majority Sinhala Buddhist population. Mahinda Rajapaksa was re-elected in 2010, but his popularity waned due to allegations of corruption and the stifling of freedoms, leading to his defeat in 2015. During his tenure, the family held considerable power, with various relatives occupying key government positions.
The family experienced a political resurgence in 2019, following a series of Easter Sunday suicide bombings. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa was elected president later that year. However, his presidency was marked by an economic crisis, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on tourism and his administration's economic policies. Facing widespread public protests, he resigned and left the country.
In 2024, Anura Kumara Dissanayake assumed the presidency on an anti-corruption platform, pledging to investigate alleged corruption within the Rajapaksa family and previous administrations. Namal Rajapaksa, a lawmaker and son of Mahinda Rajapaksa, has also previously been detained on bribery charges.