Sri Lanka arrests ex-first lady in charity graft probe

Sri Lanka's anti-graft authority has arrested former first lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa over allegations of misusing donations collected for a children's hospital. According to KahawaTungu, the 73-year-old wife of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa was arrested at their Colombo home on Wednesday. The charity, Siriliya Saviya, had collected 10 million rupees ($30,300; £22,800) for a specialised scanner for Colombo's Lady Ridgeway Children's Hospital, but officials say the scanner had already been donated by the Chinese government.

Shiranthi Rajapaksa has denied any wrongdoing, saying the money has not been appropriated, according to KahawaTungu. Her lawyer, Manoj Gamage, also stated that the money is safe in Siriliya's accounts and that no fraud has occurred. The former first lady was remanded in custody until October 13 by a Colombo magistrate, who also ordered her to be admitted to the prison hospital due to an eye condition, as reported by New Straits Times.

The arrest is part of a revival of long-dormant graft investigations involving members of the once-powerful Rajapaksa family, which dominated Sri Lankan politics for nearly two decades, according to New Straits Times and South China Morning Post. Another Rajapaksa-era official, former foreign minister Rohitha Bogollagama, was also arrested on Wednesday for corruption.

The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) also arrested the former head of a state-owned bank, Pradeep Kariyawasam, in connection with a 10 million rupee donation to the charity, as reported by South China Morning Post.

Brief written by urgent.news from Punch Nigeria, Punch, KahawaTungu, New Straits Times, South China Morning Post — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.