Sri Lanka, March 15 -- Leader of the House Minister Bimal Rathnayake revealed today that former President Ranil Wickremesinghe had used public funds of Sterling Pounds 40,000 (Over Rs. 16 million) for a private visit with his wife to the United Kingdom in 2023.

The Minister told Parliament that it is a criminal offence to use public funds for a private visit and urged the Foreign Ministry to conduct an investigation into the incident.

He said a delegation of ten people had accompanied Wickremesinghe and his wife.

Rathnayake alleged that the trip was initially described as a private visit and later had been described as an official visit in a letter sent by the Presidential Secretariat for the purpose of claiming the funds.

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