Sri Lanka Detains Former Navy Chief in Corruption Probe
COLOMBO-Sri Lankan authorities on Friday arrested former navy commander Admiral of the Fleet Wasantha Karannagoda on corruption charges linked to the recruitment and overseas military training of the son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, marking the latest step in the government’s renewed campaign against alleged corruption involving members of the former ruling family and their associates.
The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption said Karannagoda, 73, was taken into custody over the 2006 enlistment of Yoshitha Rajapaksa into the Sri Lankan Navy despite allegedly lacking the required qualifications.
In a statement, the commission accused Karannagoda of committing acts of corruption in connection with Yoshitha Rajapaksa’s recruitment and subsequent training.
Karannagoda served as commander of the Sri Lankan Navy during the final phase of the country’s decades-long civil war, which ended in 2009 with the defeat of Tamil separatist forces. He was promoted to the ceremonial rank of Admiral of the Fleet in 2019 and no longer holds an active military position.
Yoshitha Rajapaksa, 38, was arrested last month in a related investigation and later released on bail. Prosecutors allege he improperly benefited from public funds to finance training at the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, England.
The latest arrest forms part of a broader series of investigations revived under President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who assumed office in September 2024 after campaigning on promises to tackle corruption and reopen unresolved high-profile criminal cases.
Authorities have intensified scrutiny of members of the Rajapaksa family and former government officials since Dissanayake took office. Several cases involving alleged financial misconduct and abuse of office that had stalled under previous administrations have since regained momentum.
Karannagoda also faces separate legal and international scrutiny unrelated to the corruption investigation. Britain imposed sanctions on him in March 2025 over allegations of serious human rights abuses and extrajudicial killings during Sri Lanka’s civil war. He has also been charged with conspiracy to murder in connection with the disappearance and killing of 11 young men between 2008 and 2009.
Those criminal charges were dropped in October 2021 while Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the younger brother of Mahinda Rajapaksa, was serving as president. The case was later reinstated under the current administration.
Yoshitha Rajapaksa is separately facing prosecution over allegations that he failed to account for the source of funds used to purchase a house while his father was president between 2005 and 2015.
According to investigators, Yoshitha Rajapaksa said the money came from selling gemstones given to him by a grandaunt. Authorities said the relative was unable to explain how she had acquired the precious stones.
Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was also barred from foreign travel last month as part of a separate investigation examining his alleged links to the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, which killed 279 people.
The cases against the Rajapaksa family and their associates remain before Sri Lankan courts, with the current administration continuing efforts to pursue investigations into allegations of corruption and other high-profile crimes dating back to previous governments.
