Ranil and former secretary face September hearing over UK trip allegations

The Colombo Fort Magistrates Court on Wednesday adjourned proceedings in the case against former Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe and former Presidential Secretary Saman Ekanayake, until September 30.

The case was taken up before Colombo Fort Magistrate Pasan Amarasena. Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe appeared before the court accompanied by his wife, Professor Maithree Wickremesinghe.

Appearing for the CID, State Counsel Samadari Piyasena informed the court that investigations had been completed and that the relevant files had been forwarded to the Attorney General. She requested a date for the Attorney General to present their position on the matter to the court.

The magistrate accordingly fixed September 30 for the next hearing and directed that the Attorney Generals stance on the legal action to be taken against Wickremesinghe and Ekanayake be presented on that date.

Lawyers representing Wickremesinghe maintained that the disputed visit was undertaken following an invitation from a British university. They argued that there is no clear distinction between official and private travel by a sitting president and denied that public funds had been misappropriated.

Appearing for the former president, President’s Counsel Anuja Premaratne told court that investigators had claimed nearly half of the expenditure under scrutiny related to vehicle costs. However, Premaratne argued that the vehicles used during the visit had been provided by the British government. He said documentation detailing those arrangements would be submitted in open court and requested that the matter be investigated.

Several former members of parliament and former ministers were present in court during the proceedings.

The case relates to allegations that Wickremesinghe misused public funds during a one-and-a-half-day visit to the United Kingdom in 2023, while he was serving as president.

Investigators allege that more than Rs. 16.6 million in state funds was spent on a trip presented as an official visit, during which Wickremesinghe attended a ceremony honouring his wife at a British university.

Wickremesinghe was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department on 22 August 2025 after providing a statement to investigators.

The arrest marked one of the most high-profile detentions of a Sri Lankan political leader in recent years. He was remanded until 26 August before being released on bail after the court considered medical reports.

AP reported at the time that Wickremesinghe was the first former Sri Lankan head of state to be arrested. The former president’s allies described the arrest as politically motivated, while the government of Sri Lankan president Anura Kumara Dissanayake presented the case as part of its anti-corruption drive.

Wickremesinghe has denied misusing state money and has maintained that his wife paid her own travel expenses.

The case has drawn attention not only because of the allegations themselves, but because of Wickremesinghe’s long political career and his role in Sri Lanka’s recent economic crisis. Wickremesinghe served as prime minister six times before becoming president in 2022, after Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the island amid mass protests over Sri Lanka’s economic collapse.