COLOMBO: An anticipatory bail application filed by former first lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa seeking an order to prevent her arrest was on Monday rejected by a Sri Lankan court.
The order was issued by the Maligakanda Magistrate's Court on Monday after the Magistrate considered the application submitted by 73-year-old Rajapaksa, the wife of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa.
She had filed the anticipatory bail application seeking protection against arrest by the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) in connection with an investigation into the Siriliya Saviya account, Newsfirst Lanka reported.
The court previously heard the application on October 6 and issued notices directing the Officer-in-Charge of the FCID to appear on October 12 and submit facts relating to the investigation, the Lanka report said.
She is the first former first lady in the island nation's history to be taken into custody in a corruption investigation.
According to investigators, Siriliya Saviya collected LKR 10 million (approx USD 30,251) to provide a CT scanner to the Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children in Colombo, but the machine was not provided, and the money was misappropriated.
She was arrested at her residence in Kirulapone after CIABOC officials recorded her statement.
Following consideration of the application, the Magistrate rejected the request for anticipatory bail.
She is accused of corruption involving the alleged misappropriation of public funds, along with offences under the Public Property Act.
Her arrest came two days after she returned to Sri Lanka from Singapore, where she had travelled for medical treatment.
The arrest marks another significant development in the anti-corruption investigations involving members of the powerful Rajapaksa family, which dominated Sri Lankan politics for years.
Mahinda Rajapaksa served as president from 2005 to 2015, while his younger brother Gotabaya Rajapaksa was forced to resign as president in 2022 following mass protests amid Sri Lanka's economic crisis.
Rajapaksa's eldest son and opposition parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa has also faced corruption investigations and is currently in remand custody in connection with separate cases.
