Ranil Wickremesinghe's wife to appear before Sri Lanka police on Feb 20

Colombo, Feb 18 (PTI) Maithri Wickremesinghe, wife of former president Ranil Wickremesinghe, will face a financial crime investigation unit on Friday in connection with a case of alleged corruption by her husband, a Sri Lankan court was informed on Wednesday.

Ranil Wickremesinghe faces charges that he had misappropriated state funds to the tune of LKR 16.6 million for travelling to the UK in 2023 to attend the convocation of Maithri Wickremesinghe at a British university.

The former president, who was arrested late August and granted bail two days later, is to be indicted in March after completion of investigation.

On Wednesday, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) told the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court that Maithri Wickremesinghe has been notified to appear before the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) on February 20, according to news portal Adaderana.lk.

The CID has issued summons to record a statement from the former first lady in connection with the ongoing investigation involving the former president, the news portal said.

Meanwhile, in a related development on Wednesday, Saman Ekanayake, former Secretary to Ranil Wickremesinghe, was granted bail by the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court.

Accordingly, Colombo Fort Magistrate Isuru Neththikumara ordered Saman Ekanayake be released on two surety bails amounting to LKRs 2 million each.

Ekanayake was arrested and remanded in connection with the case against Ranil Wickremesinghe over the alleged misuse of public funds. PTI NPK NPK NPK