{"id":203,"date":"2025-12-16T13:07:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T13:07:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/?post_type=news&#038;p=203"},"modified":"2026-01-23T18:27:27","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T12:57:27","slug":"arjuna-ranatunga-faces-oil-scam-arres","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/news\/arjuna-ranatunga-faces-oil-scam-arres\/","title":{"rendered":"Sri Lanka Cricket Star Arjuna Ranatunga Faces Oil Scam Arres"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Sri Lanka\u2019s former cricket captain and 1996 World Cup hero, Arjuna Ranatunga faces oil scam arrest in connection with a high-profile corruption case, officials told Colombo Magistrate Asanga Bodaragama. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The case involves alleged financial irregularities during Ranatunga\u2019s tenure as petroleum minister, marking a dramatic turn for one of Sri Lanka\u2019s most celebrated sports icons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Authorities say Ranatunga, along with his brother Dhammika Ranatunga, is accused of bypassing standard procedures for oil procurement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Instead of securing long-term contracts, the brothers allegedly executed spot purchases, leading to inflated costs. Investigators estimate that these 27 transactions caused the state a loss of roughly 800 million Sri Lankan rupees (around $5 million).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Court Proceedings and Arrest Plans<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ciaboc.gov.lk\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption<\/a> (CIABOC) informed the court that Ranatunga is currently abroad and will be arrested immediately upon his return. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dhammika Ranatunga, who served as chairman of the state-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, was already arrested in connection with the case but has since been released on bail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A travel ban has been imposed on him, citing his dual citizenship in Sri Lanka and the United States. The next hearing is scheduled for March 13, 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Family\u2019s Legal History<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This is not the first legal challenge for the Ranatunga family. Another brother, Prasanna Ranatunga, a former tourism minister, was previously arrested in an insurance fraud case and convicted in June 2022 for extortion. Other proceedings against him are still ongoing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Cricket Hero to Political Controversy<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>At 62, Ranatunga remains a revered figure in Sri Lankan cricket, having scored over 10,000 international runs across 93 Tests and 269 ODIs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He famously led Sri Lanka to its first-ever World Cup victory in 1996 and achieved historic overseas wins, including a Test series triumph in England.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After retiring from cricket, he transitioned into politics, holding several key ministerial portfolios. However, the current allegations have cast a shadow over his public life, raising questions about governance and accountability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Part of a Wider Anti-Corruption Drive<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Officials say the case is part of a broader anti-corruption crackdown by Sri Lanka\u2019s government, which came to power in 2024. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>President Anura Kumara Dissanayake pledged during the election campaign to tackle endemic corruption and ensure accountability for powerful figures. Investigators emphasize that their probe relies on documentary evidence and financial records, rather than preliminary allegations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The unfolding case is being closely watched nationwide, representing both a test of the government\u2019s anti-corruption resolve and a reckoning for a former national hero facing serious legal scrutiny.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":204,"template":"","tags":[27,25,26],"ppma_author":[493],"class_list":["post-203","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-arjuna-ranatunga","tag-arjuna-ranatunga-arrest","tag-sri-lanka-oil-scam"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=203"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}