Sri Lanka to arrest 1996 World Cup-winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga; here’s why

Sri Lankan authorities plan to arrest the country's former men's cricket team captain, Arjuna Ranatunga, on corruption charges linked to his tenure as petroleum minister, a court was told on Monday.Ranatunga and his brother are accused of altering the procedure for awarding long-term oil procurement contracts and instead making spot purchases at higher prices, according to a corruption watchdog."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 equivalent to just over $5 million at the time the deals were made in 2017.The commission told Colombo Magistrate Asanga Bodaragama that Arjuna Ranatunga was currently abroad and would be arrested upon his return.His elder brother, Dhammika Ranatunga, who was chairman of the state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation at the time, was arrested on Monday and later released on bail.The magistrate imposed a travel ban on Dhammika, who holds dual citizenship of Sri Lanka and the United States.

The next hearing in the case is scheduled for March 13.Arjuna Ranatunga, 62, captained Sri Lanka to victory in the 1996 Cricket World Cup, defeating Australia in the final.The case involving the Ranatunga brothers is part of a broader crackdown by the government of Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who came to power last year after pledging to act against corruption.Another brother, Prasanna Ranatunga, a former tourism minister, was arrested last month in connection with an insurance fraud case. That matter is pending.Prasanna Ranatunga had earlier been convicted in June 2022 for extorting money from a businessman and is currently serving a two-year suspended prison sentence.