Published on, Aug. 23 -- August 23, 2025 1:23 AM

Sri Lankan police arrested former president Ranil Wickremesinghe on Friday, making him the most senior opposition figure to be detained under an anti-corruption crackdown by the new leftist government.

Sri Lanka's anti-graft units have led the crackdown since President Anura Kumara Dissanayake came to power in September on a promise to fight corruption.

Wickremesinghe, 76, who lost the last election to Dissanayake, was taken into custody after being questioned about a September 2023 visit to London to attend a ceremony for his wife at a British university, a police detective told AFP. "We are producing him before the Colombo Fort magistrate," the officer said, adding that they were press...