Sri Lanka’s police summoned former first lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa on Wednesday (September 16, 2026) for questioning over allegations that her charity misused donations, tightening authorities’ anti-corruption drive.
Shiranthi over the 10 million rupees ($30,750) collected in donations by her Siriliya Saviya charity for a PET scanner intended for a local cancer hospital.
Police said the FCID wanted to question Ms. Investigators have told a Court that the scanner had already been donated by the Chinese government, but the charity allegedly continued to solicit donations and misused the funds.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s government has revived long-dormant graft investigations involving members of the once powerful Rajapaksa family, which dominated Sri Lankan politics for nearly two decades. The Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) served the summons shortly before Ms. Other family members have also faced legal troubles. The Rajapaksa family has consistently denied corruption allegations and dismissed the cases against them as politically motivated.
Shiranthi, 73, boarded a flight to Singapore for medical treatment, family spokesman Manoj Gamage told reporters in Colombo. The former first lady’s eldest son, opposition lawmaker Namal Rajapaksa, is being investigated over allegations linked to a 2013 Airbus aircraft deal signed during his father’s presidency. Mahinda Rajapaksa served as president from 2005 to 2015 and remains one of Sri Lanka’s most influential political figures, despite the decline of the family’s fortunes since mass protests ousted his brother Gotabaya Rajapaksa from the presidency in 2022.
