Shiranthi Rajapaksa Arrested Over Donation Misuse

Shiranthi Rajapaksa seated in a vehicle

Key Facts:

  • Shiranthi Rajapaksa was taken into custody at her Colombo home on Wednesday.
  • The arrest relates to a 10 million rupee donation raised by the Siriliya Saviya charity for a specialised scanner at the Lady Ridgeway Children’s Hospital.
  • Officials say the scanner already arrived from China, raising questions about how the money was used.
  • Rajapaksa denies wrongdoing and claims the funds are still in the charity’s accounts.

She returned to Sri Lanka Monday from Singapore, where she had been receiving medical treatment, and was already seeking a court order to halt her arrest – the hearing set for 12 October. This move comes as the current government, led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, has renewed investigations into the Rajapaksa family. Earlier this year, Mahinda Rajapaksa’s eldest son, Namal, and his brother Yoshitha, were also arrested on corruption charges.

The raid underscores the ongoing backlash against the former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s administration, whose family dominated Sri Lankan politics for a decade and faced widespread protests in 2022 over economic collapse and shortages.