Former Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was arrested last week on allegations of having misused government funds, was granted bail on Tuesday, the Daily Mirror reported.

Passing the order, Colombo Fort Magistrate Nilupili Lankapura fixed October 29 as the next date of hearing.

Wickremesinghe is accused of having misused public funds to the tune of 16.6 million Sri Lankan rupees, or more than 48 lakh Indian rupees, for a private tour to the United Kingdom. He was arrested on August 22.

In September 2023, Wickremesinghe stopped in London after attending a Group of 77 summit in the Cuban capital Havana. The G77 is a coalition of developing countries within the United Nations.

The former president and his wife, Maithree, had reportedly attended a ceremony at the University of Wolverhampton in London.

Wickremesinghe has maintained that no government funds were used during the visit and that his wife’s travel expenses were paid for by her. However, Sri Lanka’s Criminal Investigation Department alleged that he used government money for his travel on a private visit.

Wickremesinghe was Sri Lanka’s president from 2022 to 2024. He had also been the prime minister six times, but never completed a full term.

He had taken over the presidency in July 2022 through an extraordinary parliamentary vote after Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who held the position at the time, was forced out amid an economic and political crisis. The country declared bankruptcy that month.

Wickremesinghe was credited with stabilising Sri Lanka’s economy after its worst-ever financial crisis in 2022.

However, Wickremesinghe lost his re-election bid in September 2024.

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