Sri Lanka anti graft commission arrests ex-president Mahinda Rajapaksa's son

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's former president Mahinda Rajapaksa's son Yoshitha Rajapaksa was arrested by the country's anti-graft commission on Wednesday on corruption charges.

Yoshitha arrived at the Commission to Investigate Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) in response to a summons issued by the Commission to appear before investigators regarding the matter.

Yoshitha is the second among Mahinda Rajapaksa's three sons.

The CIABOC has outlined the reasons behind the arrest of former Sri Lanka Navy officer Yoshitha, saying the case relates to alleged irregularities in his recruitment and training process.

In a press statement, CIABOC stated that Yoshitha, who had been a naval cadet, was allegedly engaged as an officer in the executive branch of the Sri Lanka Navy in 2006 without fulfilling the prescribed qualifications.

The Commission further alleged that he was later provided the opportunity to follow a training course at the British Royal Naval College using government funds, outside the established recruitment and training procedures.

CIABOC said its investigating officers arrested him in connection with these alleged corruption-related offences.

In 2025, he was arrested and bailed for buying a property in his grand aunt's name. The case is still proceeding. He faces a money laundering charge in the said case.

His arrest came a day after his uncle, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who was president between 2019 and 2023, filed a petition in a court to prevent his arrest in connection with the Easter Sunday attacks that killed 270 people.

Since the formation of a new government led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Mahinda Rajapaksa's eldest son and legislator, Namal Rajapaksa, was also quizzed by the police over a property case alongside an employee of Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The new government in the run-up to elections had vowed to arrest everyone accused of wrongdoing during Mahinda Rajapaksa's presidency between 2005 and 2015.

His other uncle, Basil Rajapaksa, who was the powerful economic and finance minister under the Rajapaksa presidency, was ordered to be arrested by the Colombo Fort Magistrate for alleged misappropriation of Tourism Promotion Bureau funds for electioneering in 2014.

He is accused of using 7.8 million rupees from Tourism for election propaganda work.