Ranil Wickremesinghe appears in court over public funds case

Former Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe appeared before the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court today (September 30) in the case over the alleged misuse of more than Rs. 16.6 million in public funds.

The court ordered that the case against Wickremesinghe and former Presidential Secretary Saman Ekanayake be called again on November 11, 2026, to obtain the Attorney General’s advice.

Wickremesinghe and Ekanayake appeared before the court when the case filed by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) was taken up today.

The case relates to allegations that public funds were misused in connection with Wickremesinghe’s visit to the United Kingdom in 2023 to attend the graduation ceremony of his wife, Professor Maithree Wickremesinghe.

The visit took place on September 22 and 23, 2023, while Wickremesinghe was serving as President. Reports indicated that ten individuals accompanied him on the trip.

The CID arrested Wickremesinghe on August 22, 2025, after he arrived at the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) to provide a statement in connection with the investigation.

He was later produced before the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court and remanded until August 26, 2025.

When the case was taken up on August 26, Colombo Fort Magistrate Nilupuli Lankapura granted Wickremesinghe bail after considering medical reports submitted on his behalf.

He was ordered to be released on three surety bails of Rs. 5 million each.