Sri Lanka’s ex-first lady arrested over alleged misuse of children’s hospital donations

Former Sri Lankan first lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa has been apprehended by anti-corruption authorities over claims that a charity she is associated with misappropriated donations intended for a children's hospital. The 73-year-old, wife of ex-President Mahinda Rajapaksa, was apprehended at their residence in Colombo on Wednesday. The police are questioning her regarding 10 million rupees ($30,300; £22,800) of donations collected by the Siriliya Saviya charity, allocated for a specialized scanner for Colombo's Lady Ridgeway Children's Hospital.

However, officials clarify that this scanner had already been donated by the Chinese government. Shiranthi Rajapaksa vehemently denies any wrongdoing, asserting that the money has not been misused. She recently returned to Sri Lanka from Singapore, where she was undergoing medical treatment. She initiated a court petition to avoid arrest, but the hearing was scheduled for 12 October.

Mahinda Rajapaksa's spokesperson, Manoj Gamage, confirmed that the funds remain in the charity's accounts and that no fraud has taken place. Mahinda Rajapaksa, who served as Sri Lanka's president from 2005 to 2015, led the nation to victory over the Tamil Tiger rebels in 2009. However, his family's political dominance came under scrutiny in 2022 during a period of soaring inflation and fuel shortages, leading to nationwide protests.

In 2022, Mahinda Rajapaksa's brother Gotabaya was ousted from power. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's government has since reignited investigations into corruption involving the Rajapaksa family. Mahinda and Shiranthi Rajapaksa's eldest son, Namal, was arrested earlier this year on allegations connected to an aircraft procurement deal during his father's presidency and is currently in custody. Their brother Yoshitha was also detained in June on corruption charges.