SL to arrest Ranatunga over oil scam

COLOMBO:

Authorities in Sri Lanka plan to arrest World Cup-winning cricket captain Arjuna Ranatunga on corruption charges relating to his time as petroleum minister, a court was told Monday.

Ranatunga and his brother are accused of changing the procedure for awarding long-term oil procurement contracts, making spot purchases at a higher cost, a corruption watchdog said.

"The total loss to the state from 27 purchases is 800 million rupees," the equivalent of just over $5 million at the time the deals were made in 2017, according to the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption.

Arjuna was abroad and would be arrested on his return, the commission told Colombo Magistrate Asanga Bodaragama

The former minister's elder brother Dhammika Ranatunga, then chairman of the state-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, was arrested on Monday and later released on bail.