MONETABRIEF – The Colombo High Court released former #SriLanka first lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa on bail but impounded her passport pending the conclusion of a corruption trial against her.
The court accepted as an exceptional circumstance a medical recommendation for urgent bypass surgery, after doctors found that her left artery was 80 to 90 per cent blocked.
She was ordered to provide two sureties of 10 million rupees each and a 100,000-rupee cash bond as a condition of bail.
The 73-year-old wife of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa was remanded on October 7 after being arrested on a charge of misappropriating 10 million rupees donated by the National Savings Bank for a children’s cancer hospital.
Her lawyer, Manoj Gamage, maintained that the money raised for a scanner had not been spent and remained in the account of Rajapaksa’s charity, Siriliya Saviya. The funds were raised between 2011 and 2012.
The arrest was carried out by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC).
Investigators told a court last month that the scanner had already been donated by the Chinese government, but alleged that the charity had continued to solicit donations and misused the funds. Shiranthi has denied any wrongdoing.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s government has revived long-dormant graft investigations involving members of the once-powerful Rajapaksa family, which dominated Sri Lankan politics for nearly two decades.
The former first lady’s eldest son, opposition lawmaker Namal Rajapaksa, is in remand custody over allegations linked to a 2013 Airbus aircraft deal signed during his father’s presidency, as well as a real-estate deal.
Her second son, Yoshitha, is on bail in connection with a money-laundering case, while her third and youngest son, Rohitha, is also under investigation for corruption. Several other close family members are either on bail or under investigation. Some of their close associates are in jail.
The Rajapaksa family has denied the corruption allegations and dismissed the cases as politically motivated. (Colombo/October 16/ 2026)