Authorities in Sri Lanka have announced plans to arrest Arjuna Ranatunga, the legendary cricketer who captained the nation to its 1996 World Cup victory, on significant corruption charges.
On December 15, 2025, the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) informed a Colombo magistrate that Ranatunga is a key suspect in a procurement scandal dating back to his tenure as Minister of Petroleum Resources Development (2017–2018).
Investigators allege that Ranatunga and his elder brother, Dhammika Ranatunga, who served as chairman of the state-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), improperly scrapped three long-term fuel tenders.
In their place, the duo allegedly authorized 27 spot purchases at inflated prices. This shift is estimated to have cost the state approximately 800 million Sri Lankan rupees (roughly $5 million USD at the time).
Dhammika Ranatunga was arrested on Monday, produced in court, and subsequently released on bail with a travel ban.
Arjuna Ranatunga is currently abroad; CIABOC officials stated he will be taken into custody immediately upon his return to the country.
This high-profile case is a cornerstone of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s aggressive anti-graft campaign.
Since taking office in 2024, Dissanayake has vowed to prosecute “untouchable” figures from previous administrations.
The Ranatunga family has come under intense scrutiny recently; just last month, another brother, former minister Prasanna Ranatunga, was arrested in an unrelated fraud case.
https://archive.mmnews.tv/icc-mens-t20-world-cup-2026-schedule-released/
