Ranil, Swaraj Paul and the Wolves of Wolverhampton: The Untold Story Behind a Dubious UK Trip

-By an Investigative Journalist for Lanka-e-News

(Lanka-e-News -27.Aug.2025,6.45 PM) When Ranil Wickremesinghe, Sri Lanka’s six-time Prime Minister and now embattled President, flew to the United Kingdom last September, the official narrative presented to the public was one of scholarly honour and statesmanlike duty. His wife, Maithree Wickremesinghe, we were told, had been conferred with an honorary professorship at the University of Wolverhampton, and the President himself was attending as part of a diplomatic-cum-ceremonial visit.

But dig beneath the glossy photographs of staged ceremonies, and a very different story begins to emerge: of murky finances, manipulated protocol, and the shadowy role of one man — Lord Swaraj Paul.

The Rise of Lord Swaraj Paul

Born in Jalandhar, India, on 18 February 1931, Swaraj Paul was educated at Punjab University before earning advanced engineering degrees at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). By 1966 he had moved to the UK, founding the Caparo Group in 1968 — a steel-to-automotive empire that grew into a global industrial network.

His rise to the upper echelons of British establishment was rapid. In 1996, on the recommendation of then Prime Minister John Major, Queen Elizabeth II appointed him a Life Peer to the House of Lords. By 2008 he was serving as Deputy Speaker, becoming the first of Indian origin to hold the position.

But Paul’s greatest contribution — and the one that tied him directly to Ranil’s questionable trip — was to Wolverhampton University, where he served as Chancellor from 1999 until his death in August 2025. He poured millions of pounds of his own fortune into the institution, expanding its profile and prestige.

Decorated with honours ranging from India’s Padma Bhushan (1983) to London’s Freedom of the City (1998), Paul’s public legacy was cemented as one of philanthropy and education. Yet his private connections to Sri Lankan politicians — and the manner in which his office was leveraged — tell a murkier tale.

Ranil’s Circle: Diplomats, Deals and Dubious Degrees

Paul’s wealth and influence made him a magnet for Sri Lankan politicians, some of whom sought his patronage not for academia, but for political and personal gain. Among his circle of acquaintances were disgraced former High Commissioner Rohitha Bogollagama and diplomat Saroja Sirisena, both of whom carried heavy baggage of scandal and impropriety.

Sirisena, a career diplomat and ex-wife of Minister Dilan Perera, emerges at the centre of the Wolverhampton affair. Once a close associate of Basil Rajapaksa, she had been quietly manoeuvring for service extensions while based in the UK. When her official term was running out, she hatched what insiders describe as a “double-purpose plan”: to extract a personal extension while also siphoning state funds through inflated billing for presidential travel.

The linchpin? Convincing Lord Swaraj Paul to grant Ranil’s wife Maithree an honorary academic title.

Protocol Breach: A President Without an Invitation

Had Ranil travelled to the UK on an official invitation, protocol required a strict chain: the University of Wolverhampton would have to notify the British High Commission in Colombo, which in turn would liaise with Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to schedule the visit. Such an official trip would have triggered UK funding for accommodation, security, and travel.

Instead, none of these protocols were observed. There was no official UK recognition, no state reception at Heathrow, and no Foreign Office coordination. Ranil had simply flown in on what amounted to a private visit, dressed up as a diplomatic one.

This distinction matters. Because without official protocol, the costs fell not on the UK government, but on Sri Lanka’s taxpayers.

The Money Trail: Sky Wings Limited and the Phantom Bills

The financial paper trail of the September 22–23 visit paints a disturbing picture. Over Rs. 16.6 million of Sri Lankan state funds were expended — much of it routed through a mysterious London-based travel company called Sky Wings Limited.

Though described as a “holiday tour operator,” Sky Wings played no real role in arranging logistics. Instead, it served as a conduit for inflated invoices. Documents show that cars hired for the President’s security detail — normally capped at £500 per day — were billed at £5,500 per day, with totals ballooning to over £11,000 for two days.

Similarly, a personal butler — whose services would typically cost £120 a day — was invoiced at £1,000 daily, producing an excess charge of nearly £1,750, or Rs. 700,000.

The scam was straightforward: inflate bills tenfold, submit them to the Foreign Ministry in Colombo, and pocket the difference. The orchestrators? Former High Commissioner Saroja Sirisena and her ally, consular official Arun Fernando, working hand in glove with Sky Wings.

A Pattern of Abuse

This was no one-off. Sources allege that every time Ranil visited the UK during his presidency, similar schemes were employed — with Sky Wings issuing ghost invoices and Sri Lankan officials signing them off. Even former Foreign Minister Ali Sabry’s trips were said to have followed the same script.

The losers, inevitably, were Sri Lankan taxpayers, whose money funded what amounted to luxury holidays under the guise of state business.

The Death of Lord Swaraj Paul - and the Fallout

On August 21, 2025, just days before Ranil’s court-ordered remand hearing in Colombo, Lord Swaraj Paul passed away in London at the age of 94. His death casts a shadow over the affair: the man whose name gave cover to a questionable academic honour is no longer alive to clarify his role.

What remains is a trail of unanswered questions. Did Paul knowingly collude in political manipulation, or was he misled into bestowing an honour he thought harmless? Was Ranil’s visit merely a social courtesy gone wrong — or a calculated misuse of state resources?

Accountability: Who Should Stand Trial?

Investigators now face a clear dilemma. Ranil Wickremesinghe, already remanded for misuse of public funds, is at the centre of the scandal. But the Wolverhampton affair widens the net.

If justice is to be seen, accountability must stretch beyond Ranil himself.

A President’s Prestige at the Price of the People

What began as a supposedly noble trip — a university honour for the First Lady — has unravelled into a scandal of deception, protocol breaches, and financial misappropriation. Ranil’s Wolverhampton excursion now stands less as a tale of academic recognition, and more as a textbook case of how state power can be abused for personal vanity.

For Sri Lankans, the sting is particularly sharp. At a time when the country is reeling from economic collapse, millions of rupees were squandered not on diplomacy, not on development, but on what amounted to a private photo opportunity.

And as investigators circle, one truth is inescapable: the so-called Wolverhampton honour may well be remembered not as Maithree’s academic accolade, but as the trip that dragged Ranil Wickremesinghe deeper into the quicksand of corruption.

(Photo: Ranil and Maithree Wickremesinghe at the luncheon marking Swaraj Paul’s 25th year as Chancellor. The elderly man in turban is Lord Swaraj Paul.)

-By an Investigative Journalist for Lanka-e-News

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by     (2025-08-27 13:36:26)