World News | Sri Lanka's Anti-graft Commission Arrests Ex-president Rajapaksa's Family Member

Colombo, Jun 27 (PTI) A family member of Sri Lanka's former president Mahinda Rajapaksa was arrested by the country's anti-graft body on Friday, officials said.

Nishantha Wickramasingha, the brother-in-law of Rajapaksa, was arrested by the Commission to Investigate Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) in connection with an investigation into irregularities in aircraft procurement deals during his tenure as SriLankan Airlines Chairman, the commission said in a statement.

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He was subsequently produced before a magistrate court in Colombo.

The brother of former first lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa is facing charges of causing losses to the state while heading the national carrier from 2008 to 2015.

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Wickramasingha was arrested on charges of causing a financial loss of USD 4,512 to the government by altering the destination of a flight on January 22, 2014, news portal dailymirror.lk reported.

In addition, the government incurred a loss of USD 19,160 due to the disembarkation of 75 passengers who had arrived from the Maldives and were scheduled to travel to France on a flight on January 26, 2014, it said.

The commission further alleged that Wickramasingha had misused government funds for election campaign activities of the former president in 2015.

The arrest is part of a broader anti-corruption drive initiated by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's administration against alleged financial misconduct during the Rajapaksa-led governments between 2005 and 2015.

Several other members of the Rajapaksa family and former officials have also come under scrutiny.

Earlier this year, Rajapaksa's son Yoshitha Rajapaksa was arrested over money laundering charges related to property acquisitions. Additionally, former ministers Mahindananda Aluthgamage and Nalin Fernando were convicted in May for corruption and sentenced to 20 and 25 years of imprisonment, respectively.

The Rajapaksa family, which held significant political power in Sri Lanka for over a decade, has faced multiple allegations of nepotism and misuse of public funds.

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