Mahinda Rajapaksa’s son arrested in Sri Lanka corruption case

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s anti-graft authorities arrested Yoshitha Rajapaksa, the son of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, on Wednesday in a corruption case tied to his time in the navy.

Yoshitha Rajapaksa, 38, is accused of using public money for overseas training and is also under investigation over his recruitment and rise within the service. The Bribery Commission said the case concerns his entry into the navy without the required qualifications and his subsequent Britain-bound officer training funded by the state.

"He was arrested on a charge of aiding and abetting, in connection with his recruitment without the minimum qualifications, and subsequently using state funds for overseas training," the commission said in a statement.

The arrest marks the latest legal move involving the Rajapaksa family, once the country’s dominant political dynasty. Yoshitha Rajapaksa had already been named in two money-laundering cases, was barred from foreign travel and had remained out on bail before being taken into custody. He attended a course at Dartmouth, Britain’s naval college.