🕒 Updated: August 23, 2025
Reader note: Allegations are not convictions. This page distinguishes between allegations, official findings, and court outcomes, and links to primary documents or reputable reporting wherever possible.
Police arrested former President Wickremesinghe and a court remanded him over an allegation that public funds were misused for an overseas trip connected to a university event. He has denied wrongdoing through party allies. Proceedings are ongoing; there is no conviction at this time. See reporting and official updates below.
A Special Presidential Commission examined claims surrounding a facility in Batalanda. Contemporary summaries state the Commission recommended depriving Wickremesinghe of civic rights for purported complicity. However, no prosecution or civic-disability order followed, and he continued to hold office in subsequent years. The report itself was later tabled in Parliament; English copies circulate via archives.
A Presidential Commission of Inquiry and Parliament’s COPE identified serious wrongdoing, chiefly involving then–Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran and Perpetual Treasuries Ltd. Wickremesinghe, as Prime Minister who appointed Mahendran, testified before the Commission. Implementation updates and forensic audits were later published by the Central Bank. There were no criminal charges against Wickremesinghe personally arising from these inquiries.
Parliament’s Select Committee (PSC) detailed systemic security lapses preceding the attacks. In 2023, the Supreme Court held former President Maithripala Sirisena and senior officials liable to pay compensation for fundamental rights violations. The judgments and PSC report do not impose personal liability on Wickremesinghe, though governance during his premiership was scrutinized.
Rights groups documented excessive force against protesters (notably the July 22, 2022 Galle Face raid, shortly after Wickremesinghe assumed the presidency) and criticized the 2024 Online Safety Act for risks to free expression. These are policy criticisms rather than personal criminal charges.
No. As of Aug 23, 2025, there is no public record of a criminal conviction against him. The Aug 2025 arrest concerns an allegation and is before court.
No. While press accounts of the Commission’s recommendations were severe, no prosecution or civic-disability order was enacted, and he continued in public office.
No. Commissions and COPE identified others for wrongdoing; Wickremesinghe testified but was not charged.
The Supreme Court’s 2023 compensation order named former President Sirisena and several officials. It did not impose liability on Wickremesinghe.
Disclaimer: This page collates allegations and official documents for public interest reporting. Where possible, links point to primary documents and major newsrooms. Not legal advice.