COLOMBO: Sri Lankan authorities are planning to arrest World-cup winning cricket captain Arjuna Ranatunga. The arrest will be based on corruption charges relating to his time as petroleum minister.
Sources suggest Ranatunga and his brother are accused of changing the procedure for awarding long-term oil procurement contracts. They made spot purchases at a higher cost.
It is being suggested that the total loss to the state is 800 million rupees from 27 purchases. This is equal to $5 million in 2017 at the time when deals were made, according to the ‘Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption’.
Colombo Magistrate Asanga Bodaragama was told by the magistrate that Arjuna is abroad and will be arrested on his return.
Then chairman of the state-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, Dhammika Ranatunga, the former minister’s elder brother, was arrested on Monday and then released on bail.
A travel ban was imposed on Dhammika by the magistrate. Dhamikka is dual citizen of United States and Sri Lanka.
The next hearing will take place at March 13.
Arjuna Ranatunga is 62 years old and a left-handed batter. He lifted the 1996 Cricket World Cup for Sri Lanka. The final was against Australia and Arjuna was captaining Sri Lanka.
A crackdown against corruption is ongoing in Sri Lanka. The President President Anura Kumara Dissanayake came to power last year with the promise of ending corruption.
Prasanna, another Ranatunga brother, former tourism minister, was arrested in an insurance fraud case last month.
Cricket fans are eagerly following the developments.
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