Sri Lanka arrests ex-navy chief on corruption charges

The authorities in Sri Lanka arrested a former navy commander on July 3 over allegations he illegally helped secure the recruitment and overseas training of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa’s son.



Admiral of the Fleet Wasantha Karannagoda, was taken into custody by the Bribery Commission over the 2006 enlistment of Yoshitha Rajapaksa without the required qualifications.



Karannagoda was the navy commander when Sri Lanka’s decades-long Tamil separatist war ended in 2009.



He was elevated to the rank of admiral of the fleet in 2019, and currently has no active role in the navy.



Yoshitha Rajapaksa, is out on bail following his arrest in June in a related case in which he is accused of using public funds for training at Britain’s prestigious naval college in Dartmouth.