Sri Lankan authorities are preparing to arrest former World Cup winning cricket captain Arjuna Ranatunga on corruption charges related to his tenure as petroleum minister.
Ranatunga and his brother Dhammika are accused of altering procedures for awarding long term oil procurement contracts instead making spot purchases at higher costs. The country’s anti corruption watchdog says 27 such deals in 2017 caused losses of 800 million Sri Lankan rupees just over five million U.S. dollars at the time.
While Arjuna is currently abroad authorities have confirmed he will be arrested upon his return. His elder brother Dhammika who served as chairman of the state owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation was arrested on Monday but later released on bail. The court also imposed a travel ban on Dhammika a dual citizen of Sri Lanka and the United States with the next hearing scheduled for March 13.
Arjuna 62 is celebrated for leading Sri Lanka to its first and only Cricket World Cup victory in 1996 defeating Australia in what remains the nation’s greatest cricketing achievement.
The case is part of a wider crackdown by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s government which came to power last year pledging to tackle endemic corruption. Another Ranatunga brother Prasanna a former tourism minister was arrested last month over an insurance fraud case; he is already serving a suspended prison term for a previous extortion conviction.
This high profile case underscores the government’s push to hold prominent figures accountable even national sports heroes in its campaign against corruption.
