-By LeN Political Correspondent
(Lanka-e-News -24.Aug.2025, 11.20 PM) In September 2023, while Sri Lanka’s battered economy teetered on the edge of collapse, former President Ranil Wickremesinghe quietly boarded a flight to Britain. His destination was not Downing Street, Buckingham Palace, or Whitehall. It was Wolverhampton — a city better known for football loyalties and industrial decline than for hosting statesmen. The purpose of the trip, according to evidence now before auditors and the courts, was not official diplomacy but a deeply private affair: the awarding of an honorary professorship to his wife at the University of Wolverhampton.
What might otherwise have been dismissed as a ceremonial family occasion has since spiralled into a political and legal controversy. Evidence gathered by Lanka e News and corroborated in internal audits suggests that more than Rs.16.6 million (£40,000) of public funds were channelled to bankroll what was effectively a personal excursion.
The fallout has raised sharp questions: Was this another instance of Sri Lanka’s political class treating the public purse as their private chequebook? Did the visit involve deliberate inflation of bills? And crucially, could the former president now face legal consequences under Sri Lanka’s Penal Code and Public Property Act?
On 22 September 2023, Mrs. Maithree Wickremesinghe — the academic wife of Sri Lanka’s long-serving political survivor — was formally presented with an honorary professorship by Lord Swraj Paul, Chancellor of the University of Wolverhampton, who died six days prior to Ranil’s arrest by CID officers in Colombo. The award, according to sources, had not originated from the university’s independent deliberations but had been facilitated at the request of a former British MP of Sri Lankan origin who later served as an adviser to Mr. Wickremesinghe during his presidency.
University officials confirm that the occasion was organised as part of their ceremonial calendar, though they emphasised it bore no connection to Sri Lanka–UK state relations. There were no meetings with ministers in Whitehall, no conference papers presented, and no trade discussions initiated.
The absence of diplomatic purpose is crucial: it transforms what might have been considered a semi-official trip into a purely private visit, albeit one funded by taxpayers.
Documents now in the possession of auditors and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) reveal how the Wolverhampton trip was handled.
No Official Invitation: The Foreign Affairs Ministry’s Europe and North America Division confirmed there were no records of any invitation from the British government, nor any bilateral meetings scheduled.
Private Secretary’s Advice: Sandra Perera, the President’s Private Secretary, explicitly advised categorising the journey as a “private visit.”
Funding Approval: Despite its private status, Saman Ekanayake, then Secretary to the President and Chief Accounting Officer, authorised Rs.16,270,572.83 from the Presidential Secretariat’s allocations (Head No:1102) to cover the costs.
Audit Findings: An internal audit later established that only Rs.13,370,350.82 came from the Secretariat. The remaining Rs.3,274,301.39 was quietly siphoned from funds belonging to the Sri Lanka Police and Sri Lanka Navy. The total amounted to Rs.16,644,652.21, a figure slightly higher than initially authorised.
Suspicions of Inflation: Questions remain whether hotel bills, vehicle rentals, and security costs were deliberately exaggerated to accommodate the entourage.
The paper trail paints an uncomfortable picture: a leader, long criticised for aloofness from public sentiment, authorising lavish expenditure at a time when millions of Sri Lankans were queuing for fuel, gas, and basic food.
The CID has since informed the courts that public funds amounting to more than Rs.16.6 million were misused during this private visit. The allegations point directly to violations of:
Sections 386 and 388 of the Penal Code — which deal with criminal misappropriation and criminal breach of trust.
Section 5(1) of the Public Property Act — a law specifically crafted to protect state assets from misuse.
If pursued vigorously, these charges carry both reputational damage and potential custodial penalties. Yet, in Sri Lanka’s political climate, where prosecutions against former leaders are often stalled or abandoned, sceptics question whether accountability will ever materialise.
The question that lingers is why such lengths were taken to stage-manage this trip. Critics suggest the event was designed less as a recognition of Mrs. Wickremesinghe’s academic achievements and more as a soft-power exercise to burnish the family’s international image.
Wolverhampton University’s decision to bestow an honorary professorship has also sparked muted criticism within British academic circles, with some questioning whether the lobbying by a former MP of Sri Lankan origin compromised the independence of the award.
For Ranil Wickremesinghe, who has long cultivated an image as a cosmopolitan liberal intellectual, the optics of a British academic accolade for his wife may have been irresistible. But the political cost is proving higher than anticipated.
The revelation of the Wolverhampton trip’s financing comes at a time when Sri Lanka is still reeling from its worst financial collapse since independence. Citizens endured rolling blackouts, runaway inflation, and the humiliation of sovereign debt default. In that context, the idea that a leader diverted scarce funds for what amounted to a ceremonial family outing feels to many like a fresh betrayal.
Current Government figures have seized on the revelations. “This was not a state visit. This was a state-funded picnic,” quipped one NPP parliamentarian. Another described it as “a grotesque misuse of public money in the middle of national suffering.”
Even within Wickremesinghe’s own party, there is quiet discomfort. Several Former MPs privately acknowledge that the timing and secrecy of the trip were politically reckless.
Lord Swraj Paul, a prominent British-Indian industrialist and philanthropist, has long maintained close ties with South Asian political elites. His chancellorship of Wolverhampton University made him a natural host for the ceremony.
Yet his involvement has prompted speculation about whether the award was less an academic recognition and more a diplomatic favour — a courtesy extended to a long-time political contact.
While there is no evidence of impropriety on the part of Lord Paul or the university, the perception that the honour was requested rather than independently awarded adds to the controversy’s murkiness.
This is not the first time Sri Lankan leaders have been accused of conflating personal indulgence with state expenditure. Mahinda Rajapaksa’s presidency was marred by revelations of vast sums spent on international travel and ceremonial entourages. Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s administration too was accused of cavalier spending on military jets for private journeys.
What distinguishes Wickremesinghe’s Wolverhampton excursion is its banality: it was not tied to grand summits or state-building projects, but to a university ceremony in a provincial English city. For critics, this makes the alleged misappropriation all the more indefensible.
The Wolverhampton affair also raises structural questions about accountability. Successive Sri Lankan governments have blurred the line between private and official travel, often using “security requirements” as justification for state funding.
Should public money be used to protect and transport former leaders during private events abroad? How should costs be apportioned when family or personal milestones overlap with public office?
In mature democracies, mechanisms exist to separate private from public expenditure. In Sri Lanka, the Wolverhampton visit illustrates how those lines remain dangerously porous.
The legal and political consequences of the Wolverhampton revelations are still unfolding. Two scenarios appear possible:
Prosecution: CID’s findings lead to indictments under the Penal Code and Public Property Act, Wickremesinghe could face formal charges,
Political Fallout: Even absent a trial, the controversy tarnishes Wickremesinghe’s image at a delicate moment for his party, potentially its tarnish Ranil’s image withing the international Politics.
In the end, the Wolverhampton affair is not about honorary professorships or academic ceremonies. It is about trust — the fragile contract between leaders and the people they serve. When citizens queued in blistering heat for fuel, when hospitals struggled for medicines, when the Treasury pleaded with the IMF for bailouts, their president chose to authorise millions for a trip that served no national purpose.
The irony is that the Wolverhampton ceremony may have been intended to elevate the Wickremesinghe family’s standing on the global stage. Instead, it has become a symbol of the very arrogance and detachment that fuelled Sri Lanka’s crisis.
Whether the courts, the auditors, or the people themselves will ultimately hold Ranil Wickremesinghe accountable remains to be seen. But the evidence is already clear: this was not diplomacy. It was vanity — and the public paid the bill.
(PIX - SWARAJ PAUL, RANIL & MAITHREE AT UNIVERSITY OF WOLVERHAMPTON)
-By LeN Political Correspondent
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by (2025-08-24 17:50:01)
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