Sri Lankan police on Friday arrested the country's former president and senior opposition politician Ranil Wickremesinghe over allegations of misusing public funds during his tenure as president, police said.

Wickremesinghe, who served as the island nation's president from 2022 to 2024, was arrested on allegations of using public funds to attend his wife's graduation ceremony in London after an official visit to the U.S, police spokesman Fedrick Wootler told The Associated Press.

Wickremesinghe's aide, Danushka Ramanayake, said the former president has been taken to a court after being arrested by the Financial Crimes Investigations Department.

Wickremesinghe is the first former Sri Lankan head of state to be arrested and is the most high-profile leader under investigation for corruptio

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