Sri Lanka’s anti-corruption investigators arrest former first lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa over allegations that a charity linked to her misused donations meant for a children’s hospital. Multiple outlets report the 73-year-old was taken into custody in Colombo and driven to a relevant office before being processed for court.
The arrests come as Sri Lanka’s current government revives older, long-running corruption probes involving figures from the once-dominant Rajapaksa family, which held significant influence in the country for nearly two decades. BBC and the South China Morning Post describe the case as part of the government’s broader effort to revisit dormant investigations, while The Hindu focuses on the role of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) and the expectation that she is brought before a magistrate.
Across reports, the central allegation is that the charity collected funds but allegedly diverted or improperly used them rather than applying them to the intended children’s hospital purpose.
