Colombo, February 18 Maithri Wickremesinghe, the wife of former President Ranil Wickremesinghe, will appear before a financial crime investigation unit on Friday in connection with a case of alleged corruption by her husband, a Sri Lankan court was informed on Wednesday.
Ranil Wickremesinghe is facing charges that he misused state funds amounting to LKR 16.6 million to travel to the UK in 2023 to attend the graduation ceremony of Maithri Wickremesinghe at a British university.
The former president, who was arrested in late August and granted bail two days later, is expected to be formally charged in March after the investigation is completed.
On Wednesday, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) informed the Colombo Fort Magistrate's Court that Maithri Wickremesinghe has been asked to appear before the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) on February 20, according to news portal Adaderana.lk.
The CID has also issued a summons for the former first lady to give a statement in connection with the ongoing investigation involving the former president, the news portal said.
Meanwhile, in a related development on Wednesday, Saman Ekanayake, former Secretary to Ranil Wickremesinghe, was granted bail by the Colombo Fort Magistrate's Court.
Accordingly, Colombo Fort Magistrate Isuru Neththikumara ordered Saman Ekanayake to be released on two surety bails amounting to LKR 2 million each.
Ekanayake was arrested and remanded in connection with the case against Ranil Wickremesinghe over the alleged misuse of public funds.