Investigation into Rajapaksa Family for Corruption and Crimes

Several members and allies of the Rajapaksa family, including Shiranthi Rajapaksa, the wife of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, are under investigation in Sri Lanka. A court in Colombo has extended Shiranthi Rajapaksa's custody following her arrest on October 7 over allegations that her charity misused donations intended for a children's hospital. Shiranthi Rajapaksa, 73, was arrested after the government’s Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) accused her charity, the Siriliya Saviya Foundation, of misusing nearly 100 million rupees (approximately $303,000) in donations. Investigators claim that funds were solicited for an MRI scanner, despite one already being donated by the Chinese government. The charity allegedly misused the donations to purchase a house. Her son, Namal Rajapaksa, a parliamentarian and national organizer of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) party, was arrested a month prior on bribery charges and remains in custody. The Rajapaksa family has faced scrutiny for alleged corruption and mismanagement during their time in power, which ended in 2022 after widespread protests. Mahinda Rajapaksa, who served as president from 2005 to 2015, is viewed as a controversial figure, particularly due to his role in the civil war that ended in 2009, during which thousands of civilians were killed. The ongoing legal challenges against the Rajapaksa family are seen as part of a broader effort by the current government, led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, to address corruption. Dissanayake has stated that the law will be applied equally to all, and the government has faced accusations from SLPP officials of conducting a political witch-hunt. The Rajapaksa family has been a dominant force in Sri Lankan politics for nearly two decades, but their influence has waned significantly in recent years.