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Arjuna Ranatunga. (Photo/social media)
Sri Lankan authorities program to apprehension the country's erstwhile men's cricket squad captain, Arjuna Ranatunga, connected corruption charges linked to his tenure arsenic petroleum minister, a tribunal was told connected Monday.Ranatunga and his member are accused of altering the process for awarding semipermanent lipid procurement contracts and alternatively making spot purchases astatine higher prices, according to a corruption watchdog."The full nonaccomplishment to the authorities from 27 purchases is 800 cardinal rupees," the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery oregon Corruption told the court, arsenic reported by quality bureau AFP. The magnitude was equivalent to conscionable implicit $5 cardinal astatine the clip the deals were made successful 2017.The committee told Colombo Magistrate Asanga Bodaragama that Arjuna Ranatunga was presently overseas and would beryllium arrested upon his return.His elder brother, Dhammika Ranatunga, who was president of the state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation astatine the time, was arrested connected Monday and aboriginal released connected bail.The magistrate imposed a question prohibition connected Dhammika, who holds dual citizenship of Sri Lanka and the United States.
The adjacent proceeding successful the lawsuit is scheduled for March 13.Arjuna Ranatunga, 62, captained Sri Lanka to triumph successful the 1996 Cricket World Cup, defeating Australia successful the final.The lawsuit involving the Ranatunga brothers is portion of a broader crackdown by the authorities of Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who came to powerfulness past twelvemonth aft pledging to enactment against corruption.Another brother, Prasanna Ranatunga, a erstwhile tourism minister, was arrested past period successful transportation with an security fraud case. That substance is pending.Prasanna Ranatunga had earlier been convicted successful June 2022 for extorting wealth from a businessman and is presently serving a two-year suspended situation sentence.
