Former Finance Minister Arrested for Corruption, Using State Funds to Pay Personal Staff
Former Sri Lankan Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake has been arrested on suspicion of using state funds to pay the salaries of his personal staff. He was detained on Monday following an extensive investigation by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC), Sri Lanka’s primary anti-corruption agency.
According to reports from The Straits Times, a CIABOC official stated that Karunanayake is alleged to be behind the salary payments for three individuals officially listed as employees of the National Lotteries Board (NLB), but who in practice performed work for the former minister’s personal interests. The NLB is a government agency that operates various lotteries, with proceeds used to support national revenue and social programmes.
“The former minister was behind the salary payments to three individuals from the National Lotteries Board, but they were performing personal work for him,” said a CIABOC official on condition of anonymity.
Karunanayake’s arrest is part of an increasingly aggressive anti-corruption campaign spearheaded by Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who assumed office in 2024. Karunanayake was a member of the administration under former President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Other Former Ministers Also Arrested
Karunanayake’s case is not the only recent crackdown on high-ranking Sri Lankan officials. In early August 2026, former Sri Lankan Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella was also arrested for allegedly aiding the theft of centuries-old sacred stones from the palace of the last Sinhala king in Sri Lanka.
Rambukwella held the health ministry during a period when Sri Lanka faced a severe medicine shortage after the country defaulted on its US$46 billion foreign debt in April 2022. This crisis marked one of the lowest points in Sri Lanka’s economic turmoil, which triggered widespread shortages, high inflation, and political unrest.
Furthermore, several close family members of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa are currently facing investigations or legal proceedings related to allegations of money laundering, bribery, and murder.