After ending his cricket career, Sri Lanka’s World Cup-winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga became the country’s Petroleum Minister in 1996. Now he is likely to be arrested by the Lankan authorities on corruption charges.
Sri Lanka is going through very bad times recently due to lack of proper political infrastructure. The government of Sri Lankan President Anura Kumar Dissanayake, which came to power last year promising to crack down on corruption, has subsequently been embroiled in a massive corruption scandal.
Recently, former Sri Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga, who led the team to victory under his captaincy by defeating the mighty Australian team in the 1996 Cricket World Cup final, has also been found accused in a corruption case.
Arjun Ranatunga will be arrested on corruption charges
Sri Lankan authorities plan to arrest the country’s former men’s national cricket team captain Arjuna Ranatunga on corruption-related charges when he served as the country’s petroleum minister.
The former Sri Lankan captain and his brother were accused of altering the process of awarding long-term oil purchase contracts. According to the corruption watchdog’s report, the two were involved in spot buying at higher than normal prices.
The case is also part of the massive Ranatunga brothers scandal, which is part of a wider crackdown by the government in Sri Lanka after corruption charges were brought against them.
Here’s what the inquiry commission report found
The commission told the Colombo magistrate Asanga Bodaragama said that Arjuna Ranatunga is not currently in the country and upon his return to the country, he will be arrested for his fraudulent schemes.
“The 27 procurements resulted in a total loss of Rs 800 million to the state,” the commission investigating allegations of bribery or corruption told the court, news agency AFP reported. When the deal was signed 8 years ago in 2017, this amount was found to be more than 5 million dollars.
One of the Ranatunga brothers was arrested in Sri Lanka only last month
Arjuna Ranatunga’s elder brother, Dhammika Ranatunga, was then chairman of the state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation. He was arrested on Monday but later released on bail.
While granting bail, the magistrate imposed a travel ban on Dhammika as the elder brother of the former Sri Lankan captain has dual citizenship of both Sri Lanka and the United States.
Another brother of Ranatunga, former tourism minister Prasanna Ranatunga, was arrested last month in an insurance fraud case. However, the minister was convicted of extorting money in 2022 and is currently serving a two-year suspended jail sentence.
The only remaining brother of the Ranatungas is a former Sri Lankan captain, who is also linked to the web of corruption and will soon be arrested, while the next hearing in his elder brother’s case is scheduled for March 13.
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