Corruption or Conspiracy?

At 76, Wickremesinghe, one of Sri Lanka’s most seasoned statesmen, is remanded in custody on charges of misusing public funds during his presidency. The development is unprecedented: no former head of state in Sri Lanka has ever been arrested on corruption charges. The allegations centre on a 2023 stopover in London, following Wickremesinghe’s attendance at the G77 summit in Havana. He and his wife, Maithree, attended a University of Wolverhampton ceremony where she received an honorary professorship. The Criminal Investigation Department alleges that the detour was a private affair funded by state resources, including expenses for travel and security. Wickremesinghe has strongly denied the charges, maintaining that his wife’s costs were privately covered and that he never abused public funds. This case, however, is only one strand of a broader investigation. According to local media, Wickremesinghe undertook 23 foreign trips during his presidency, reportedly costing the state over Rs 600 million ($2 million). While some journeys were clearly linked to official business, others are now under scrutiny, testing the blurred boundaries between state duties and personal activities.

Wickremesinghe’s fall from grace is particularly striking given his long and complex political career. A lawyer by training, he entered parliament in 1977 and served six separate terms as prime minister. After decades of failed bids for the presidency, he assumed the top office in July 2022, following the resignation and flight of Gotabaya Rajapaksa amid a wave of protests triggered by Sri Lanka’s worst-ever economic meltdown. Although his party — the once-dominant United National Party — had been reduced to a single parliamentary seat in the 2020 election, Wickremesinghe positioned himself as the steady hand needed to stabilise a country on the brink of collapse. He secured a $2.9 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund in 2023, introduced painful tax hikes, and slashed subsidies to restore fiscal order. These measures were unpopular, yet many credited him with preventing total economic implosion. Despite these efforts, Wickremesinghe lost the 2024 presidential election to Anura Kumara Dissanayake, leader of the left-leaning National People’s Power, who campaigned on promises of social justice and an uncompromising anti-corruption drive. The CID investigation was launched under Dissanayake’s administration, and Wickremesinghe was placed under arrest. The central question now is whether this arrest represents genuine accountability or a political witch-hunt designed to discredit a rival. On the case’s merits, if state resources were diverted for private purposes, there is a legal basis for charges. Heads of state operate within the privileges of office, but using public money to fund personal travel would constitute an abuse of power under Sri Lankan law. The scale of Wickremesinghe’s foreign travel expenditure also demands scrutiny, particularly when the country grapples with austerity and poverty. Yet, the political dimensions cannot be ignored. The timing — barely a year after Wickremesinghe’s election defeat — suggests that the arrest carries symbolic weight. The Dissanayake government underscores its anti-corruption credentials by targeting the man who steered Sri Lanka through its most tumultuous period. But critics argue that the move smacks of selective justice. The Rajapaksas, whose administration was widely accused of systematic corruption and mismanagement, have so far avoided similar treatment. That contrast fuels suspicion that Wickremesinghe’s arrest is as much about political score-settling as it is about legal redress.