Sri Lankan authorities arrested former first lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa on October 7, 2026, over allegations that her Siriliya Saviya charity misappropriated 10 million rupees ($30,300) meant for a children's hospital scanner. A Colombo court ordered her remanded for a week. The arrest is part of a broader anti-corruption campaign by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake targeting the once-powerful Rajapaksa political dynasty, whose members deny the charges as politically motivated.
Arrest and detention of Shiranthi Rajapaksa
- ▪A Colombo court ordered Shiranthi Rajapaksa to be remanded in custody for one week, until October 13, 2026, at Welikada Magazine Prison.
- ▪Sri Lanka's anti-corruption authority arrested former first lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa on October 7, 2026, in Colombo over allegations of misusing charity donations.
- ▪Shiranthi Rajapaksa returned to Sri Lanka from Singapore on October 5, 2026, where she had been receiving medical treatment.
Allegations of charity fund misuse
- ▪Shiranthi Rajapaksa is accused of misusing 10 million rupees ($30,300) donated to her Siriliya Saviya charity, meant for a Lady Ridgeway Children's Hospital scanner already donated by the Chinese government, to allegedly purchase a house in Torrington.
- ▪Shiranthi Rajapaksa and her husband's spokesperson, Manoj Gamage, denied any wrongdoing, stating that the funds remain safe in the charity's accounts.
Bank chairman's case
- ▪A court released Pradeep Kariyawasam, the former chairman of the National Savings Bank, on bail following his arrest.
- ▪Pradeep Kariyawasam, the former chairman of the state-owned National Savings Bank, was arrested for allegedly circumventing procedures to release the 10 million rupees to the charity.
Corruption charges against the Rajapaksa sons
- ▪Namal Rajapaksa, the eldest son of Mahinda and Shiranthi Rajapaksa, is currently in remand custody over corruption allegations linked to a 2013 Airbus aircraft procurement deal.
- ▪Yoshitha Rajapaksa, the second son of Mahinda and Shiranthi Rajapaksa, was arrested earlier in 2026 on corruption charges and is currently out on bail.
Anti-corruption drive
- ▪In September 2026, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake told a farmers' rally in Polonnaruwa district that everyone must face the law without sympathy.
- ▪President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's government, elected on an anti-corruption platform in 2024, has revived long-dormant corruption investigations involving members of the Rajapaksa family.
Decline of the Rajapaksa family's political power
- ▪In 2022, massive public protests over a severe economic crisis forced then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to resign and flee the country.
- ▪The Rajapaksa family dominated Sri Lankan politics for nearly two decades, but their popularity declined after 2010 amid allegations of bribery, corruption, and stifling of freedoms.
Debatable claims
- ▪Prioritizing historical corruption investigations is an effective way to restore public trust in Sri Lanka
- ▪Remanding Shiranthi Rajapaksa in custody is an excessive and punitive measure
- ▪The Rajapaksa family's wartime legacy justifies leniency regarding their corruption allegations
- ▪The corruption investigations against the Rajapaksa family are a politically motivated witch-hunt
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