Why Sri Lanka’s Rajapaksas are being investigated for corruption and crimes

What the report says

A Sri Lankan court in Colombo has extended the custody of Shiranthi Rajapaksa, the wife of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, after her arrest over allegations that her charity misused donations meant for a children’s hospital. Al Jazeera reported that the arrest on October 7 is part of a wider set of corruption and criminal investigations involving members of the once-dominant Rajapaksa family, which ruled Sri Lanka for much of the past two decades.

According to the report, investigators say Shiranthi’s Siriliya Saviya foundation collected funds for medical equipment even though a scanner had already been donated by the Chinese government. The charity is accused of diverting nearly 100 million rupees, or about $30,000, and prosecutors told court they believe some of the money was used to buy a house. Her lawyers sought bail on health grounds, but that request was rejected.

The article says Namal Rajapaksa, Mahinda’s son and a senior figure in the family’s party, is separately facing bribery-related proceedings, while other relatives are also under scrutiny in money-laundering and illicit-wealth cases. Al Jazeera placed these developments in the context of Sri Lanka’s post-2022 political shift, after protests helped end Rajapaksa rule and President Anura Kumara Dissanayake came to power on an anti-corruption platform.

Beyond corruption cases, the family also faces unresolved questions linked to the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings. Al Jazeera reported that former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is under legal pressure in that inquiry as well, underscoring how the family’s political legacy remains a major issue in Sri Lankan public life.