Sri Lanka captain to be JAILED before ICC T20 World Cup 2026
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After bringing an end to his cricketing career, the Sri Lankan World Cup-winning captain from 1996, Arjuna Ranatunga, went on to become the country's Minister of Petroleum. He is now likely to be arrested on corruption charges by the Lankan authorities.
Sri Lanka has been undergoing a very bad phase recently, with the lack of proper political infrastructure. The Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's government, which came to power last year after pledging to act against corruption, was later found entangled in a larger web of corruption.
Recently, Arjuna Ranatunga, the former Sri Lankan skipper who captained them to victory in the 1996 Cricket World Cup by defeating the mighty Aussies in the finals, has also been found accused in a corruption case.
Arjuna Ranatunga to be arrested on corruption charges
Sri Lankan authorities have planned to arrest the country's former men's national cricket team captain, Arjuna Ranatunga, on charges related to corruption during his time as the petroleum minister of the country.
The former Sri Lankan skipper and his brother were accused of having altered the procedure for awarding long-term oil procurement contracts. The duo were instead involved in making spot purchases at prices higher than usual, as per the reports of a corruption watchdog.
This case is also part of the massive Ranatunga brothers scam, which is part of the broader crackdown by the government in Sri Lanka, which crashed following corruption charges being levied on them.
Here's what the Investigative Commission's report found
The commission told Colombo Magistrate Asanga Bodaragama that Arjuna Ranatunga is currently not in the country and would be arrested on his return to the country for his fraudulent schemes.
"The total loss to the state from 27 purchases is 800 million rupees," the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption told the court, as reported by news agency AFP. The amount was found to be equivalent to over $5 million at the time when the deals were made 8 years back in 2017.
One of the Ranatunga brothers was already arrested last month in Sri Lanka
Arjuna Ranatunga's elder brother, Dhammika Ranatunga, was the then-chairman of the state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation at the time. He was arrested on Monday but was later released on bail.
While granting the bail, the magistrate imposed a travel ban on Dhammika since the elder brother of the former Sri Lankan captain holds dual citizenship of both Sri Lanka and the United States.
Another brother of the Ranatungas, Prasanna Ranatunga, the former tourism minister, was arrested last month in connection with insurance fraud. However, the minister was convicted back in 2022 for extorting money and is currently serving his two-year suspended prison sentence.
The only brother of the Ranatungas left is the former Sri Lanka captain, who has also been linked with the web of corruption and will be arrested anytime soon, while the next hearing for the case of his elder brother is scheduled for the 13th of March.
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