Sri Lanka to arrest 1996 World Cup winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga; here’s why | Cricket News
Sri Lankan authorities are considering arresting the former captain of the country’s men’s cricket team, Arjuna Ranatunga, on corruption charges relating to his tenure as oil minister, a court heard on Monday.Ranatunga and his brother are accused of changing the procedure for awarding long-term oil purchase contracts and instead making spot purchases at higher prices, according to a corruption watchdog.“The total loss to the state from 27 purchases amounts to 800 million rupees,” the Commission investigating allegations of bribery or corruption told the court, as reported by the AFP news agency. The amount was equivalent to just over $5 million at the time the deals closed in 2017.The commission told Colombo magistrate Asanga Bodaragama that Arjuna Ranatunga was currently abroad and would be arrested on his return.His elder brother, Dhammika Ranatunga, who was at the time chairman of the state-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, was arrested on Monday and later released on bail.The magistrate imposed a travel ban on Dhammika, who has dual Sri Lankan and American citizenship.The next hearing in the case is scheduled for March 13.Arjuna Ranatunga, 62, led Sri Lanka to victory in the 1996 Cricket World Cup, beating 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 take action against corruption.Another brother, Prasanna Ranatunga, a former tourism minister, was arrested last month in connection with an insurance fraud case. This matter is pending.Prasanna Ranatunga was previously convicted in June 2022 of extorting money from a businessman and is currently serving a two-year suspended prison sentence.
