Arjun Ranatunga, who won the 1996 World Cup under his captaincy, may be arrested. Ranatunga may be arrested on corruption charges related to his tenure as Petroleum Minister, the court was told on Monday. Ranatunga and his brother are accused of making changes in the process of awarding oil purchase contracts and incurring higher costs.
A corruption watchdog said a total of 27 purchases were made, causing a loss of about 800 million Sri Lankan rupees to the country. This amount is equivalent to approximately Rs 23.5 crore in Indian currency. According to the commission formed to investigate allegations of corruption, this purchase was made in 2017.
The commission formed to investigate told the Colombo Magistrate that Arjun was abroad and would be arrested upon his return. Dhamika Ranatunga, brother of former Petroleum Minister Arjun Ranatunga, was arrested on Monday, later released on bail. Dhamika Ranatunga was the Chairman of Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, which came under the authority of the government, at the time of that purchase.
The magistrate has banned Dhamika from travelling. He holds dual citizenship of Sri Lanka and USA. The next hearing on this matter is to be held on March 13. Another brother of Arjun Ranatunga, Prasanna, was arrested last month in an insurance fraud case. That case is still pending, but in June 2022, he was found guilty on charges of extortion from a businessman. Prasanna has been a former tourism minister.
In the final of the 1996 World Cup, the Sri Lankan team under the captaincy of Arjun Ranatunga had created history by defeating Australia by 7 wickets.
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